


Instant Pain

by FireSlash



Series: DC Dekuverse [2]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), The Flash (Comics), The Flash - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Angst and Tragedy, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki Faces Consequences, Blood and Gore, Broken Bones, Character Death, Crazy Midoriya Izuku, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Dark Character, Deconstruction, Depression, Descriptions of gore, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Genius Izuku, Hurt No Comfort, Independent Villain, Insanity, Intense Bullying, Izuku has PTSD, Killing, Major Character Injury, Mental Anguish, Mental Disintegration, Mental Instability, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Go to U.A. High School, Midoriya Izuku Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Midoriya Izuku is a Mess, Minor Character Death, No Happy Ending Fest, No Romance, OP Midoriya Izuku, Physical Abuse, Quirk Discrimination (My Hero Academia), Quirkless Discrimination (My Hero Academia), Tragedy, Villain Midoriya Izuku, feelings of hurt, mentions of scars, no one is safe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:41:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23530072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireSlash/pseuds/FireSlash
Summary: (Zoom AU!). Tragedy shows a person's true character. This is a universal truth for Izuku. After being rejected by All Might, the boy gains powers which could put any pro hero to shame…at the cost of his sanity. Now, he will inflict pain on the upcoming heroes to help them be the best they can be, assuming the 'fakes' don't get in his way…
Series: DC Dekuverse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692394
Comments: 86
Kudos: 208





	1. The Birth of Zoom

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to my new fanfic 'Instant Pain,' the second of my DC Dekuverse fics. Now, this fic is actually a first for me in two regards: it is the first full on Villain Deku fic I've written and the first fic of which there will be no love interest. Why? Well, in this fic, Izuku won't have time nor the mental capacity to fall in love.
> 
> To explain how I even got the idea of the fic: Zoom (Hunter Zoloman) is my favorite villain of all time with how crazy he is and how far he's willing to go just to reach one goal. He wants to make the Flash (Wally West) a better hero by inflicting tragedy upon him. He sees tragedy and pain as teachers and if the Flash experiences them, then he'll have the drive of a true hero, willing to sacrifice anything to save someone. I saw this and thought to myself "hey, I feel this is a path Izuku could go down if he were to be a villain." After all, Izuku's goal in cannon is to be the best hero, one who can save everyone with a smile. He's been through hell and back. But what if his experiences twisted him in a way which he does become a villain, not to cause harm or out of spite, but because he thinks he can really help heroes become their better selves? It would be both in character and out of character for Izuku; he's still 'helping' people. All these thoughts resulted in this fic coming to be.
> 
> A full disclaimer: Izuku in this fic does not reflect my thoughts in real life. He is meant to be a controversial character (he is the villain after all and will remain a villain throughout the end). Izuku WILL be responsible for some major character death. If you know about Zoom, you'll know how far this character is willing to go (this story WILL NOT feature rape though for those of you worried about that. It is a sensitive topic I do not feel as if I am able to cover and it is not in character for someone even as crazy as Zoom). You have been warned.
> 
> One last thing: if you haven't already, follow me on IG (fire_slash_fanfiction). I post when I plan on updating stories and it's the best place to reach me now that I don't get notified of PMs for some reason.
> 
> Well, that was a lot. With that out of the way, let's get right to the story. Review and enjoy :-).

_“Every pain is a gift. Every pain is an opportunity”-_ Maxime Lagacé

 _“Adversity is the first path to truth”-_ Lord Byron

_“Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing”- Fight Club_

0000

"Not all men were born equal," no one knew this better than Izuku Midoriya. A young boy, all he wanted in life was to become a hero. In a world where eighty percent of the population are born with quirks, innate powers which manifest at a young age, heroes and villains can exist, making the boy's dream achievable. Kind and selfless, Izuku would've made a great hero, if it weren't for the fact he lacked a quirk. Being quirkless made him powerless according to others.

"M-mom? I can still be a hero right? I c-can still be like All Might, right?" Young Izuku Midoriya asked his mother the day after he was diagnosed as quirkless, tears streaming from his eyes. All the boy wanted was to become a hero like All Might, the current number one hero, but without a quirk, his dream seemed to be out of his reach. 'Please, please tell me you still believe in me…'

"Izuku, honey…" his mother, Inko Midoriya said, trying to stay strong for her child. Unfortunately, she couldn't, wrapping her baby in a hug and sobbing next to him. "I'm so sorry!"

When Izuku asked his question, he was looking for reassurance, a reminder that someone was still on his side, believing in him despite his lack of a quirk. What he got instead was a reminder that he was alone and if he wanted to chase his dream, he'd need to do it by himself.

And chase his dream he did. Knowing that he'll need to try twice as hard to become a hero compared to someone with a quirk, he did just that, strengthening his mind and body. He taught himself the basics on how to fight, studied things most kids wouldn't learn until they were adults, and kept detailed notes about every hero and villain he could find. Doing so allowed him to think of ways in which one could effectively use their quirk while also coming up with ways to render a quirk useless. Yes, even if he lacked a quirk, the boy still aimed to become a hero, his drive bigger than it's ever been. 

Sadly, the world seemed eager to put him down. Shortly after his diagnosis (Izuku hated that word, being quirkless wasn’t a disease), all his playground friends had left his side, instead choosing to use him as a target for practicing their quirks. Everyday was a struggle for survival. No one wanted anything to do with a quirkless loser and were fine with using him to increase their own power. Such was a shame, for young Izuku would've been willing to help them anyways. Leading the pack was his ex-childhood friend Katsuki Bakugou, a boy whose quirk allowed him to create explosions by igniting his sweat. Once inseparable friends, when Katsuki's quirk developed, he became arrogant and cruel, using his power to inflict pain upon others. No one did anything to stop him, as they only saw the fact his quirk would allow him to become a great hero. Every time Izuku tried getting someone’s help, they’d brush him to the side. Despite the other boy’s ruthless nature, everyone believed that Katsuki would make for a great pro-hero due to his powerful quirk. Wanting to be part of the people who would raise such a ‘hero,’ everyone was willing to let Katsuki’s behavior slide, not wanting to stain his ‘perfect record.’ As for Izuku, well, no one cared about the ‘quirkless loser.’ The world chose Katsuki over him and Izuku was forced to live with this fact.

If only they knew what was about to happen. If only they knew that Izuku would end up with power that makes even Katsuki’s look pathetic. Perhaps if they treated him with even one ounce of respect, Izuku could have been their greatest ally. Instead, he would end up becoming a force capable of ruining society, and ruin society he will… 

If one was to wonder when Izuku joined the side of villainy, he’d inform them about THAT day, the day he ‘saw the light in a world of endless darkness…’

0000

"All right, as you all know, you're all now in middle school," Izuku's middle school homeroom teacher stated. "In two years, you'll be applying to schools which will help you become what you want to be in the future. You should all start thinking about what exactly you want to be, but who am I kidding? All of you are planning on becoming heroes, correct?"

Upon saying that, most of the students began cheering in affirmation, some of them even displaying their quirks in a non-destructive manner.

"Hey teach, don't lump me into the same category as these crappy side characters," Katsuki stated, the boy being in Izuku's homeroom. Izuku's thoughts on Katsuki were strange. On one hand, he admired the boy's bravery and determination. On the other hand, he was his biggest tormentor. He certainly hated the boy, but there were some aspects to him that the quirkless boy found cool. "I'm off to be the best damn hero you've ever seen."

"Ah, right, you've mentioned that you're applying to U.A, correct?" His teacher asked the boy, not to anyone's surprise seeing as how much he let this fact be known. U.A Academy was considered to be the best hero development school in Japan. The chances of anyone getting in were slim, yet this didn't seem to faze Katsuki, the boy having a smirk on his face.

"Damn right I am, I even aced the mock test!"

Hardly anyone did well on the mock test, something the explosive boy clearly knew as his grin only seemed to grow bigger after his bragging. Immediately, his classmates began fawning over Katsuki as Izuku decided to dive into his own little world, not wanting to watch his classmates stroke the ego of his biggest bully like always.

"Midoryia, aren't you planning to apply to U.A as well?"

Of course the teacher would bring this up. While they didn’t openly do it, he knew the teachers mocked his dream behind his back.

"Really? Isn't he quirkless? How does he possibly think he can get into U.A?" One of his classmates asked, everyone else laughing. The only person who wasn't was Katsuki.

"Deku," Katsuki growled, not liking the fact the boy was applying to the same school as him, Deku being a nickname the boy gave him out of mockery. Deku was a word meaning useless, and Katsuki latched onto it, using it to mock the boy for his lack of a quirk. At first it had stung him, but with it being said more than his actual name, the boy grew immune to the negative connotations the nickname had.

"All right, all right, that's enough," the teacher stated to regain control of the class, though Izuku knew that if it wasn't for the fact that the bell was about to ring, they would've continued mocking him.

Thankfully, the bell did end up ringing a few minutes later, causing everyone to flood outside the room. Glad that the day was over, the boy began to pack his things, only for someone to swipe one of his notebooks.

"The fuck is this?" Katsuki asked out loud, making his victim nervously eye him as he had no idea what was going to happen. Well, he sort of did, but it didn't make him feel better. "Hm…'Hero Analysis for the Future 13?' You really think this is going to help you?"

The ‘Hero Analysis for the Future’ was a series of books Izuku had written analysing the quirks of all potential and current pro heroes. It was his way of finding out the strengths and weaknesses of those who had similar quirks. If he was going to be a quirkless hero, he knew such knowledge would be helpful.

In the background, two boys snickered, them being followers of Katsuki despite the fact he simply saw them as extras.

"K-kacchan," Izuku weakly said, referring to the nickname he gave the boy back when they were childhood friends. That book was his pride and joy, composed of years of work. It was one of the few things he was proud of. "P-please give it back."

Ignoring the boy's pleas, Katsuki gave him a devilish smirk. "Listen here Deku, you should just give up trying to be a hero. You're fucking quirkless. You can't be a hero without power."

Hearing this, Izuku secretly clenched his fist, unable to make eye contact with the other boy. He wanted to tell Katsuki that anyone could make a difference, no matter if they had unstable quirks or lacked one, but he couldn't. Katsuki intimidated him to no end.

*BOOM!*

Looking up, Izuku noticed that Katsuki had activated his quirk to burn his notebook before tossing it out a window. Not wanting to lose it, he stuck his head out of the window, desperately trying to see if he could find where it fell.

"Like I said, no amount of research is going to cover up your flaws," Katsuki told him as he continued searching. "You know, if you really want to be a hero, take a swan dive off the roof. You'll be far more useful dead, and who knows? You might even get a quirk in your next life."

Horrified at what he just heard, Izuku immediately began flashing back to all the times Katsuki had picked on him. His breathing increased as his body begged him to swing at the person who made it a struggle for him to live, to shout massive profanities at him and call him out for being such a villain to him. He was seriously about to, but he ended up backing down when he noticed several small explosions coming from Katsuki's palm.

"Got something to say? Tch, you can't even defend yourself. Whatever, I'm done here."

Watching the boys leave, Izuku clenched his fist, trying to hold back tears. In the end, he couldn't, years of pain flooding out of him in the form of tears. ‘Why me?’

0000

"Ah, just my luck, a disguise, and one of a harmless schoolboy no less. Looks like I can finally get rid of that pesky hero."

After grabbing his notebook, Izuku decided to take a shortcut through a small tunnel as it was raining and he had forgotten his umbrella (in actuality, it was stolen). Unfortunately, it seemed like a villain was using it as a hideout.

Izuku immediately backed up, knowing he couldn't do anything to the villain at the moment. Seeing as he was literally a ball of sludge, physical attacks would just pass right through him. 

"Get over here!" Using a tendril, the sludge villain attempted to grab Izuku, only for the boy to dodge, his martial arts training kicking in. "Looks like we got a runner."

Not letting up, the monster continued to fire his tendrils at the boy, Izuku managing to dodge two of them. Sadly, the monster was eventually able to grab the boy.

"Don't worry kid," the sludge villain said as it began absorbing Izuku into him. "This won't take long."

'Is this where I die?' Izuku asked himself as he desperately struggled to break free, only for his efforts to be in vain. The villain's hold was too strong. 'As a useless Deku? Looks like I wasn't able to protect anyone…'

"Hah, you know, if it wasn't for you, I'd probably be caught right now," The villain mocked his dying victim. "Thanks kid, you're my hero."

Hearing this, Izuku’s will to live suddenly faltered, causing him to stop struggling. He was willing to accept his fate. The mocking words of his classmates were catching up to him. Before he could die however, the outline of an individual appeared, cocking back a fist. 

"TEXAS SMASH!"

'All Might?' Izuku asked himself, managing to catch a better view of his hero before passing out, the lack of air having caught up to him.

0000

"Hey, hey kid, get up."

Opening his eyes, Izuku awakened to his hero gently patting his cheek, trying to wake him up. Eyes widening in amazement, Izuku leaped upwards, surprised to be face to face with his hero.

"Thank goodness you're awake," the American hero stated, sighing in relief. "I would've hated it if anyone got hurt because of me."

"All Might!" Izuku shouted excitedly before geeking out, mumbling facts about the hero under his breath as said hero gathered the remains of the villain in two soda cans. Once he saw his hero finish, Izuku pulled out one of his hero analysis notebooks and presented it to him. "P-please sign my notebook!"

"Of course!" Grabbing the notebook, All Might signed with with surprising speed before giving it back to the eager fan.

"Thank you so much! I'll treasure this forever! It'll be a family heirloom!"

"Always glad to be of service!" The hero said before walking off. "Now, I'm off to take this villain to jail! Farewell my adoring fan!"

As All Might prepared to fly off, a pang of realization hit Izuku. His hero was right here, perhaps he could answer the question of the possibility of someone quirkless becoming a hero. "All Might, wait!"

"Can't!" The hero declared. "I must go!"

With that, All Might flew off, only to realize mid-flight that Izuku was clinging onto his leg. "Kid, what are you doing!"

"I need to ask you something!" Izuku declared, gripping onto the hero with all his might. What Izuku didn't know was that All Might was on a time limit for how long he could use his powers.

'Shit!' Coughing up blood, All Might began thinking of a way to remove the fan clinging onto his leg. Realizing that he couldn't ask the kid to let go, he steered himself to a nearby building and landed on its roof.

"What you did was extremely reckless," All Might told him as the boy caught his breath. "You could have been killed."

"I know," Izuku told him. "But I need to ask you something."

"I can't stay to chat," All Might said, struggling to keep his powers flowing. "I need to go."

"Please wait!"

"I will not wait!" Preparing to take off, All Might suddenly stopped when he heard the boy shout his question.

"CAN A QUIRKLESS PERSON BECOME A HERO!?" Izuku asked before closing his eyes. "…All my life, I was told that I was useless because I didn't have a quirk. They told me I shouldn't be a hero, but I know I can do good! Do you believe I can be a hero?" Opening his eyes, Izuku widened upon seeing his idol replaced by a scrawny man. "Wait? An imposter?"

"Not an imposter," The man stated. "I'm All Might."

‘What?' Izuku thought to himself as he looked at All Might's true form.

"What you see is the real me. My muscle form is the result of my quirk. You know how people flex to make themselves look bigger? That's what it is for me." Pulling up his shirt, All Might displayed a large wound on his stomach. "Ugly, isn't it? I got this from a villain five years ago."

"Was it Toxic Chainsaw?" Izuku asked, remembering how that was the only high ranked villain to face off against All Might that year. All Might simply shook his head.

"No. That chump couldn't land a good hit on me. This was a villain who I refused to make public. Now, for your question; as you know, a person's quirk doesn't define them as a hero…"

'Yes!' Izuku's eyes widened in glee, believing he already knew what All Might was going to say. He was going to say that even though quirks make it easier to be a hero, they aren't needed, before repeating one of his catchphrases: anyone can be a hero.

"But not having a quirk? No, I don't think you can become a hero."

'What?' At this moment, Izuku could hear his heart shattering into millions of pieces. The man he practically worshipped more than anything, the man who was known to always spread hope no matter the situation, the man he wanted to be, effectively told him what everyone else did. He was worthless.

"It's nice to dream, kid, but you also need to be realistic."

'I'm so sorry!' His mother's voice echoed in his head as All Might continued talking.

'No…'

"If you really want to help out, try becoming a police officer. Sure, they're constantly ridiculed for being less effective than heroes, but you'll still be helping others."

'Like I said, no amount of research is going to cover up your flaws. Just give up.' He could practically see Katsuki laughing at him right now.

'Why? Why does no one believe in me? Does being quirkless really make you useless?'

Realizing Izuku had nothing left to say, All Might began making his way to the building's staircase. "If you want to leave, these stairs should take you to the bottom floor. Also, would you mind keeping my secret for me? I need the public to continue believing the Symbol of Peace is invincible. There's no telling what might happen if you reveal that I'm not."

"…Sure," Izuku couldn’t find the power to say anything else. Everything he fought for seemed to be for naught. The way Izuku lived was built upon someone else’s lie. All Might presented himself as a warrior of hope, yet he couldn’t even stay true to his words when presented with a desperate person. To Izuku, he honestly believed that the number one hero should come clean about his condition as believing in someone invincible will only cause mass hysteria if he's ever defeated. 

"Take care kid." With that, All Might left the building, leaving Izuku to his own thoughts.

"So that's it, huh?" Izuku asked with a dry laugh. "This is where my dream dies." After hearing what All Might had to say, Izuku silently watched the rain fall, needing some time to cool off. As he did so, an explosion occurred somewhere inside the city, but he paid it no mind. He was too far to do anything about it and besides, the heroes have it under control. In fact, the seventh highest ranked hero, Kamui Woods, was based nearby.

“What do I do now?” Izuku was lost. He had no idea what to do with his life now that his dream has been torn to shreds. Should he find a different dream? Even if he did, nothing would change. He’d be mocked for a lack of a quirk. According to the world, he was underqualified for almost any job due to his quirkless nature. 

A flash of lightning occurred, the sound of thunder accompanying it a second later, but Izuku didn’t pay it any attention. ‘What the hell do I do with myself now?’

*Crackle!*

‘Is this the hopelessness that others like me feel?’

*CHOW!*

‘Those who were told they won’t amount to anything?’

*BOOM!*

‘Those who clinged onto false promises?’

*CRACKLE!*

‘False promises made by false idols.’

*BOOM!*

‘It seems there’s no one willing to save us. If only the heroes could understand what we go through. Then they’d treat us like we’re worth a damn!’

*CHOW*

Standing up, Izuku decided to make his way home. 

*CRACKLE!*

Only for him to be hit by a lightning bolt. Izuku didn’t even have time to let loose a shout of pain as he instantly went unconscious. 

0000

_*ZZBT!*_

_"Like I said, no amount of research is going to cover up your flaws. You know, if you really want to be a hero, take a swan dive off the roof. You'll be far more useful dead, and who knows? You might even get a quirk in your next life."_

_“Maybe you should take your own advice and hope you get born with a better attitude!”_

_*ZZBT!*_

_“As you know, a person's quirk doesn't define them as a hero_ _,_ _but not having a quirk? No, I don't think you can become a hero."_

_“Does it feel good lying to the world?” Izuku asked All Might. “Giving them hope and shattering it when push-comes-to-shove?”_

_*ZZBT!*_

_"I'm so sorry!"_

_“I don’t have a disease. I’m not dying, so don’t treat me like I have one!”_

_*ZZBT!*_

_“Hey teach, don't lump me into the same category as these crappy side characters! I'm off to be the best damn hero you've ever seen.”_

_“Can you even be a hero without empathy? Do you know how much your actions as a hero affect those around you?”_

_*ZZBT!*_

_“Also, would you mind keeping my secret for me? I need the public to continue believing the Symbol of Peace is invincible. There's no telling what might happen if you reveal that I'm not.”_

_“Yes there is. People will realize you’re not invincible. You’re just like them. Only difference is that you have power and they don’t. Some will be angry while others will be saddened. Some will even be scared.”_

_*ZZBT!*_

_‘Why me?’_

_“Yeah, why me? Why am I forced to struggle while others can get away with anything?”_

_*ZZBT!*_

_“Got something to say? Tch, you can't even defend yourself. Whatever, I'm done here.”_

_“Have you ever struggled before? Have you ever been put down and spat on? Have you ever been ignored no matter how much you beg for aid? No, you never had. You never had to work for anything. You were born with gifts you don’t deserve.”_

_*ZZBT!*_

_“If you really want to help out, try becoming a police officer. Sure, they're constantly ridiculed for being less effective than heroes, but you'll still be helping others.”_

_“You’re right, they are ridiculed, but they still do their jobs. The police could probably teach you a thing or two about heroics. Even when people put them down, they rise up to the challenge. They work harder than most heroes. They understand civilians because they ARE civilians. The only reason they aren’t as effective as you is because they’re not allowed to use their quirks most of the time. Yes, there are corrupted officers out there, but with Endeavor as a hero, no one can really discredit them for that without putting down the hero society as a whole. In the end, people like you and Endeavor live lives of luxury, never having to struggle. You were born with power that answers all your problems, just like Kacc-no-Bakugou. You don’t know how it’s like being the little man, and even if you once did, you seem to have forgotten-”_

_*ZZBT!*_

**_“IF ONLY SOMEONE COULD SHOW YOU WHAT IT’S LIKE…WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE HELPLESS. TO BE UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY! MAYBE THEN YOU’LL MAKE GOOD HEROES, BUT WHAT WILL IT TAKE? SOME DEAD CHILDREN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE? A DEAD FAMILY MEMBER YOU COULDN’T PROTECT FROM HARM? THE EXPOSURE OF ALL YOUR DARKEST SECRETS? IF ONLY SOMEONE COULD SHOW YOU WHAT IT’S LIKE...”_ **

_*ZZBT!*_

0000

Waking up, Izuku was greeted with the pounding sensation of a massive headache. 

‘What happened to me?’ Looking around, the boy noticed that he was at a hospital. ‘How’d I get here?’

Thinking back, all Izuku could remember was that he suddenly fell unconscious on the roof where All Might left him. Then he suddenly began having several cycles of flashbacks of his entire life. Each cycle seemed to be under a different lens, some of them he was angry, others he felt hopeless. They all had one thing in common though, he was able to point out the hypocrisies of the world. It was funny how some of the most successful people were born into power. They never had to struggle to get where they are. It’s why All Might can lie as freely as he does. It’s why Endeavor can sleep at night after endangering and killing civilians with his reckless actions. It’s why Katsuki will be a hero despite being a horrible person. 

Shaking his head, Izuku continued to look around. What he saw ended up surprising him. The entire world was seemingly frozen in place. There were several doctors stuck in motion. To his right was his mother who was looking at him with worry, which was normal, but no matter how long Izuku looked at her back, she didn’t blink. 

_“IF ONLY SOMEONE COULD SHOW YOU WHAT IT’S LIKE…”_

‘What’s going on here?’ Sitting up, Izuku tried to see if someone had activated their quirk. If someone did, then they shouldn’t be stuck. ‘Is this happening because of a time manipulation quirk?’ 

_“WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE HELPLESS.”_

‘I don’t see anyone else unfrozen,’ Izuku thought to himself. His eyes suddenly widened. ‘Wait, did I do this?’

“TO BE UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY!” 

Lying back in his bed, Izuku closed his eyes and tried to unfreeze everything using up all his concentration. The sounds of people shuffling around that occurred a few seconds confirmed that he indeed managed to succeed in his task. Sitting up much to the surprise of the other occupants in the room, Izuku stared at his hands in amazement. ‘I have a quirk?’

“Izuku, I was so worried!” His mother yelled, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. 

Izuku ignored her as he continued glancing at his hands. 

“It’s good to see you’re awake, the doctor said. You see, you were s t r u c k-”

Attempting to use his quirk again, Izuku was ecstatic to see that he was able to slow down time around him before freezing it again. With some more concentration, he returned things to normal.

“-by lightning. You were found by a hero. How do you feel?”

“How do I feel?” Izuku asked himself with an unnerving smile. “I feel great!”

The doctor continued to speak to his mother, but Izuku ignored them, instead choosing to play with his new quirk. He found it a bit difficult to control, but he knew that with some practice, he could get the basics worked out.

‘With this, now I can become a hero!’ 

_‘MAYBE THEN YOU’LL MAKE GOOD HEROES, BUT WHAT WILL IT TAKE?’_

‘But one good hero won’t make up for the hundreds of bad heroes in the industry.’

_‘SOME DEAD CHILDREN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE?’_

‘If I really want to make a difference, then the bad heroes need to leave or change themselves.’

_‘A DEAD FAMILY MEMBER YOU COULDN’T PROTECT FROM HARM?’_

‘They need to be challenged. They need to experience true pain.’

_‘THE EXPOSURE OF ALL YOUR DARKEST SECRETS?’_

‘With these powers, I can help them. I owe it to those who can’t do it themselves and for those who actually want to make a difference. To truly help the world…’

A rational person would question this rationale. To Izuku, this was all making sense. To suddenly gain a quirk after living life without one, it seems there was only one thing he could truly do with it, especially one as powerful as time manipulation… 

_‘IF ONLY SOMEONE COULD SHOW YOU WHAT IT’S LIKE…’_

‘I’LL BECOME ITS GREATEST VILLAIN!’

Some would say that all logic has been thrown out the window. Izuku would say that he was finally enlightened. All that matters is that the old Izuku Midoryia was gone. What was left was the person who would become the villain known as ‘Zoom…’


	2. Breaking Facades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoom is born and claims his first victim...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to the next chapter of 'Instant Pain'. I'm glad to see that so many of you are enjoying the story. Typically, I'd have more to say, but I've decided to instead put all that stuff at the end of the chapter. Please check it out for it contains some very important information. Also, if you haven't already, follow me on IG (fire_slash_fanfiction). I post when I plan on updating stories and it's the best place to reach me now that I don't get notified of PMs for some reason.
> 
> Oh, and shoutout to Wolf1741 on Fanfiction.net or giving me a quote I end up using. There was no way I couldn't use it.
> 
> With that out of the way, let's get right into the story. Review and enjoy :-).

“ _The only source of knowledge is experience_ ”- Albert Einstein 

0000

_'Am I mad? I think I am. Nothing explains why I've decided to become a villain after years of dreaming to be a hero.'_

_"No, I'm not mad. I've just been shown the truth. The heroes of today are nothing but glorified celebrities. Heroics is a business and as long as they look like they're doing good, they get rewarded. They're far from authentic… just characters played to trick people into thinking the world is fine."_

_'But as a hero, I can change that. I can promote justice.'_

_"By playing by their rules? Listening to the laws some people are allowed to freely break? The laws made to oppress? Pah!"_

_'Then I'll use the platform given to me to speak up and demand that things change!'_

_"I'll be one person against the whole world if I play by the law. My only allies are those who can't speak up. Actions speak louder than words. If I show them what's wrong with their little illusion, then I'll truly be doing something great!"_

_'By killing people? Am I really willing to sacrifice the lives of others just for a stupid goal? That's not doing good. A true hero is willing to find a way to save both sides, no matter the cost!'_

_"But sacrifices need to be made. The few lives I end are nothing compared to the many I'll save. People won't see past the little bubble they've made for themselves if I play nice. I'll drag them out of it with everything I've got, even if it means I have to sacrifice some lives! One example won't change anything! Instead, the world needs to be torn down and rebuilt! Pain must be allowed to enlighten them! The heroes need to feel what it's like for their world to crumble, what it's like to be helpless as everything they once thought was true turns out to be one big fat lie! Then…then they'll see what they've been doing was wrong and will learn from it. Those who wish to be true heroes will rebuild themselves from the ground up, using their failure as motivation to be better! And I'll gladly help them be better. As for those who aren't up to the task, all the clout-chasers and phonies… well, the whiplash will hit them hard, and they won't be able to recover…"_

0000

U.A's entrance exams were nine months away. Schools began two months after U.A's exams. This gave Izuku eleven months to practice with his new abilities, time he used to his advantage.

_Self Analysis Entry #1: Quirk- Time Stop. I can slow down and stop time. How far I can do so is unknown. More analysis is needed…_

Having discovered during his time in the hospital that he could seemingly stop time, for a while, Izuku simply thought that was all his new power granted him. As such, he only focused on this part of his new abilities for the first month. Adopting the abandoned Dagobah Municipal Beach Park as his training spot, he used his phone as a means of keeping track of how slow he was able to make time flow around him and how long he could use his powers before tiring out. It turns out that Izuku didn't seem to have a limit, or at least he hasn't managed to hit it yet.

_Self Analysis Entry #2: Quirk- Flash Step. I can move at supersonic speeds. Limit is unknown, though I was able to cross the world in a minute. Impacts my senses and allows me to react much faster than the ordinary person._

During the second month, the boy managed to incorrectly define his powers yet again due to an incident with a tree. Having realized that getting into shape would benefit him, Izuku decided to do various forms of exercise, one of which being cardio.

"Alright, let's do this." Izuku aimed to run from one end of the beach to the other, two trees being the markers as to where the place began and ended. Taking off, Izuku was halfway to the first tree when he noticed something was off. For some reason, he wasn't getting tired yet. Typically, his legs would feel as if they were going to fall off by now. This wasn't the first time this happened, but it was the first time he's noticed such a change.

'Must be a byproduct of my quirk. I should test out my physical capabilities later…'

Pushing his physique to the side, the boy continued to run towards the tree. When he saw it, he decided to see if he could push himself to move quicker. If he did gain a boost to his physical prowess, it should mean that he could run faster. When he did so, he was shocked to see that he ended up running past the tree. In fact, when he managed to stop himself, he was somehow in his town's shopping district. He had also plowed down the tree.

'How did I do that?' The boy mentally asked himself as he looked around, confirming that he indeed was in his town's shopping district. Thankfully it didn't seem as if people noticed that he managed to zoom into town. 'Freezing time should have nothing to do with how fast I move… unless my quirk isn't really time manipulation… but superspeed!'

Diving into an alleyway, Izuku prepared to use his quirk. Mentaly pushing himself like he did when he was running towards the tree, he managed to make himself a blur. Making sure to focus as he ran, the boy was able to discover that his senses had been enhanced to the point where they were able to catch up with his speed, allowing him to process his environment as he ran. Eventually, he made it back to the beach in under two seconds, having activated his phone's watch before he ran.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Glancing at his hands again, Izuku was ecstatic about his discovery.

"Super speed! I can't believe it! Oh man, this is way better than time manipulation!"

For Izuku's goal, this was true. Super speed will give him an edge regarding brute force, something he was lacking if his quirk had only given him the ability to freeze time around him. Sure, he could use a gun or a weapon, but it would be useless against those who had passive quirks that protected them from such things.

The next day, Izuku decided to test his limits again. Now that he assumed that he had super speed, he wanted to see how fast he could go. He was also motivated by the fact he could potentially be the fastest being alive. Despite how many quirks there are out there, the concept of speedsters in the real world didn't exist. The closest thing to a speedster was the pro-hero Ingenium whose quirk allowed him to move extremely fast compared to the average human, but it was through propulsion, not actual super speed.

'Test number one, can I run on water?' Staring at the beach water, Izuku crouched down, bracing himself to run. Mentally pushing himself harder than ever, the boy shot forwards. As it turns out, he could run on water.

'Let's try moving faster.' Pushing himself even further, the boy ended up running around the world, the only reason he even knew this was due to him passing by several famous landmarks.

'That sort of looks like the Great Wall of China… wait, Is that the Taj Mahal? Now I see the Leaning Tower of Pisa… how did I get to the Eiffel Tower so quickly? ...So that's how the Statue of Liberty looks up close…'

Eventually, he made it back to Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. Checking his phone to see how much time has passed, he was surprised that he's only been gone for two minutes.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Another laugh shot out of him. He couldn't help it. He was far faster than anyone alive. No one would ever be able to tag him. He could ram into All Might and instantly kill him if he wanted to! There was no way his powers could get better.

At least, that was what he thought…

_Self Analysis Entry #3: Quirk- Zoom. I have my own timeframe and I can manipulate how fast I go in it and how it interacts with the main timeframe. I can mimic super speed, create devastating shockwaves, create vortexes, heal from otherwise fatal wounds faster than the human mind can process, and potentially do so much more…_

It took the boy another month to realize something odd regarding his powers. Despite how comic books portrayed it, if someone were to move as fast as he could, they'd incinerate everything around them. Every step they'd take would cause massive shockwaves to occur. Yet when Izuku moved, none of that happened. There was also the fact he couldn't feel the effects of friction while moving. Whenever he came to a sudden stop, he always expected for a shockwave to follow suit from behind him as it should. Again, this never happened. In fact, he shouldn't be able to stop running so suddenly. He should have to slow himself down somehow. He was so confused by all this.

He would only be more confused after a certain incident occurred during his training. Practicing his punches, Izuku wanted to see how hard he could hit without a running start. One thing people tend to forget is that when someone with superspeed fights an opponent physically stronger than them, the reason the speedster's blows hurt them is because of physics. Being tapped by a car moving fast enough will send someone flying while being grazed by a car that is hardly moving theoretically wouldn't harm anyone.

The same logic could be applied to Ingenium and why he was able to hurt people with super strength. Using the engines in his elbows, he was able to move his fists fast enough to increase his striking force.

With this knowledge, Izuku decided to practice hitting things. He didn't want to kill those he was helping after all, unless he deemed them to be unredeemable in the future. With some help from his speed, he managed to master this in thirty minutes.

"Don't worry everyone, I'll save you."

However, on this particular day, Izuku was getting really into his training.

"I'll make sure the heroes are their best possible selves. No more leeches…"

"But not having a quirk? No, I don't think you can become a hero." The memory of his encounter with All Might popped up into his mind.

"No more liars!"

"Take a swan dive off the roof. You'll be far more useful dead." Thinking of his childhood bully made him see red.

"NO MORE FAKES!"

*BOOM!*

Throwing a final punch, Izuku was surprised when a giant shockwave ripped apart all the trash on the beach. Such a thing never happened before.

"What...was that?"

He had some researching to do. A trip to the library later and the boy found his answer.

Initially, he searched through all the books the library had regarding the laws of physics and theories regarding traveling the speed of light. When he couldn't find his answer there, he decided to go back to his roots and research theories of time travel and manipulation. That was where he found his answer.

"If two things from alternate timelines were to collide on the same plane of existence, the result could be catastrophic."

This line intrigued him. Digging through more books on the subject, Izuku made a breakthrough.

"I don't have super speed… I'm manipulating my own timeline."

Leaving the library, he made his way to a nearby forest. With what he did on the beach, he was pretty sure the police and some pro-heroes would be investigating the source of such an explosion, so he won't be able return there for a while.

Once deep enough, Izuku began to test a theory of his. If he did have the ability to manipulate how fast he moved in his own time-frame, then two things should be possible. First, he should be able to slow himself down as well as speed himself up. Doing a backflip, him being able to do so as a result of his enhanced physique, Izuku focused on slowing himself down, this time thinking of pulling something instead of pushing. This seemed to do the trick as Izuku found himself frozen in the air. Returning himself to normal, Izuku fell right on his face.

"Got to work on the landing," the boy mumbled to himself. Despite this, he was pleasantly surprised with the results. Being able to slow himself down will prove very useful as he could now leap from high places and slow his descent. No longer will he have to worry about breaking his legs if he chose to fall from a high distance.

Now, there was one more test he needed to perform.

"Let's see if this works…"

A helpful way he found to explain the way his potential timeline interacts with the main one is that of using cars on a two-lane road as a model. The first lane represents the main timeline. The cars on that lane are only allowed to move a certain speed and are unable to either steer off-course or stop. Theoretical time-travel could break the latter rule as they could teleport someone further forwards or further backwards. However, even a time traveler could not push the cars off-course.

The second lane represents Izuku's timeframe. Unlike the cars on the first lane, the car on the second lane can break several rules. It can reverse or move forwards on the road with no aid, suddenly stop, or accelerate as much as it wanted. It was also the only car on that lane though. Typically, the two lanes co-existed in peace, but if it so wished, the car on the second lane could enter the main timeframe, controlling how it does so. It could enter harmessly, which was what Izuku might have been doing, explaining why there were no sonic booms when he ran. Or it could crash into the cars on the first lane, damaging them and explaining how Izuku was able to create that shockwave from earlier.

Raising his hand in the air, Izuku snapped his fingers, hoping to ram his car into the main timeframe. Doing so unleashed a strong shockwave, one which equaled that of the ones created by All Might at his prime punching something with all of his strength.

Izuku stared at the shockwave, eyes widened as he knew what this meant. The laws of physics, the core of space and time, none of that mattered to Izuku. He was an entity outside of all that, a glitch in the matrix. Someone like him shouldn't exist, but he did.

A maniacal smile adorned the boy's face. How funny was it that a glitch would help improve the system?

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Collapsing on his knees, Izuku continued to laugh. For all his life, he never belonged and now that he had powers, he still didn't belong. He wasn't upset about this though, for not being a part of the world allowed him to see how flawed it was. He was also far more powerful than everyone else as a result of his circumstances. If a messily snap provided that much power, imagine what would happen if Izuku hit something at full force…

"They won't see me zoom by them until it's too late. Hm, 'Zoom…' I like it…"

Standing up, Izuku began to leave the forest. He had some work to do…

0000

For the next seven months, Izuku began to prepare himself for his mission. Once he learned that he could move at supersonic speeds, it was practically game over. He realized that he was able to train up his body and mind in a month due to his powers, and he did just that. Having studied all known professions, Izuku was now a genius. In addition, controlling his powers isn't a problem anymore and he figured out some other trucks he could do, such as the fact he could run up on ninety degree angles like walls. In addition, he learned that traveling through slippery surfaces was of no issue to him, which was something that would be of a hindrance to him if he was actually a speedster. What should have taken him more than twenty years to master was done in a month. The funny part was that if Izuku could've done all of this in a shorter time span if he so wished, perhaps in one day. The only reason he didn't do so was because he had so much time to spare.

After gathering such knowledge, Izuku then began preparing his supervillain alter-ego. Stealing some materials from a well known support company as a test run, the boy managed to craft his costume. After several design fails, the young supervillain decided to make a dark green suit with a blue lightning design adorning his chest. In addition, he had a mask which has small lightning bolts sticking out above his ears, small line shaped gaps on the mouth resembling a demented smile, and some small sharp "claws" added to the gloves. Finally, there was a voice filter inside his suit which he could use to disguise his voice.

"If this doesn't scream 'villain,' then I don't know what does…"

While all this was going on, Izuku continued to live his life the way he did before he got struck by lightning, which meant that he had to deal with his entire school bullying him. Naturally, it sucked as Izuku hated that he was treated this way for existing, but in a way, he felt it was helping him in the long run. The bullying reminded him of his roots and why he was doing what he was doing. Izuku didn't want to end up like All Might and Katsuki who became ignorant of the struggles of the common folk due to their powers, so by continuing to pretend that Izuku Midoryia was still quirkless, he would remain grounded. It was messed up logic, but it was what he was going for.

Obviously, due to everything that's happened to him as a result of his powers, his sanity went down the drain. During his first month of having his powers, the sane and inner-fanboy side of him constantly questioned his motives, causing him to argue with himself when alone. When he discovered his true powers, what was left of his sanity had disappeared. Nowadays, his desire to 'help' people by causing tragedy in their lives was stronger than ever.

In terms of planning for his eventual debut, Izuku was originally going to make himself known as quickly as possible. However, he soon changed his mind due to something that happened at school. Katsuki was at it again, continuing to brag about his chances of getting into U.A when he said the following:

"Watch! I'm going to get into U.A, kick ass, and be a better hero than All Might!"

'You won't be if you don't understand what it means to be a hero,' Izuku had thought to himself in response. It was then that he had a realization. Not only could he help the current heroes become better, but he could help the next generation of heroes do so as well before they could make the same mistakes as their predecessors.

'Perfect!'

And what better place to start than U.A? U.A was known for producing some of the 'best' heroes ever made, being the center of nurturing upcoming heroes. By making his debut there, he could hit the hero world where it hurts the most.

It wasn't until the results of U.A's entrance exams were released that Izuku began his plan. One benefit of living in a society where test scores were publicly posted was that it was super easy to track the school's applicants. With some searching, Izuku was eventually able to find the thirty nine students who had managed to beat the cutoff score and would be joining U.A's heroics department.

"Unbelievable…" Izuku mumbled to himself once he saw Katsuki's score. While the boy did receive a whopping seventy seven villain points and earned first place, he didn't earn any hero points, a supposedly hidden set of points that were given to those who showed exemplary heroic attitudes. "I really have my work cut out for me. Don't worry Bakugou, I'll soon be able to make you better. Before I do that though, I need to decide which student won't be going to graduate."

Tragedy must be allowed to show the students in U.A's heroics department the light. What's more tragic than cutting the career of one of their classmates short? Yes, Izuku was going to kill one of the forty students. However, he wasn't going after just any of them. No, it needed to be the one who clearly had the most potential in becoming a true hero.

Some might question why he'd kill the one person he considered to have the best chance at being a 'true hero.' Izuku's response was simple: the other students who have the potential of being great heroes would see their classmate's death as a tragedy and would adapt the victim's heroic nature into their own careers to honor them. Those who couldn't see what made this individual truly amazing would simply continue with their old ways, meaning Izuku would have to either kill them before they infect their classmates with their poor attitudes or work twice as hard to help them. Even if it doesn't work out the way Izuku hopes it will, the loss of a life will still motivate the other heroic students to do better so that such a thing never happens on their watch again.

There was also the fact that most of the staff at U.A were pro-heroes themselves that motivated him to commit murder. If a student died on their watch, it'll reflect badly on them, no matter the circumstances as they'll be bombed by several media outlets. They'd have to start their careers from scratch, and those who manage to climb back up will find themselves at a height they could only dream of achieving at their current state.

'Let's see if I can get All Might in on the action…' All Might was rumored to be teaching at U.A starting this upcoming school semester. Imagine the world's surprise when the 'infallible' All Might fails to do his job…

For the next thirty eight days, Izuku would use his abilities to stalk all the accepted applicants, besides Katsuki as he already knew the boy's attitude already, and began listing them based on their personality. The most heroic of the students went on the top of his list while the least heroic went on the bottom. The one on the top would be his first target, but if they and/or their class weren't around when Izuku decided to make his debut, then he'd just move down the list until he found someone who was present.

Once he was done stalking the future students, Izuku spent the rest of the time he had before school started thinking about his debut. When was he going to strike? What will it look like? Sadly, nothing he thought of satisfied him. He decided to do some digging on the dark side of the internet to get inspiration from other villains who are aiming to make reveals of their own, but still, nothing came to mind. However, he did manage to accidentally find an ad that intrigued him.

"Come see the death of All Might!" The ad said. "We at the League of Villains have managed to create something which can kill that damn 'Symbol of Peace'! You too can be part of this momentous event. Details below…"

The ad then provided some contact information. A simple ad, yes, but it did its job.

"Kill All Might, huh…" To be honest, Izuku felt like whoever was advertising this didn't have the firepower needed to kill the 'Symbol of Peace.' However, hardly any villain dared try to take All Might's life, which was why this ad had left an impression on him. Izuku could count on his hand the amount of villains who fought All Might with the aim to kill. Most of All Might's opponents fought him to avoid getting caught. Then again, he had the power to kill All Might, so it was possible that someone else was equally, if not more powerful than he was. That was his thought process for the time being as it would be a long time until Izuku found out the truth about his powers and how he truly was one of a kind. As of now, he's hardly scratched the surface. "It'll be interesting to see what they have planned…"

Izuku memorised the address and date of the meeting. While the meeting was scheduled right around the same time he started school, the boy having decided to apply to a local public school as where he went to school didn't matter to him anymore, it was thankfully on a weekend night. All he had to do was sneak out of his house, a feat that would be easy with his powers, and he was set…

0000

The fact that the League of Villains was based in a bar surprised Izuku. Didn't they know that a bar was probably one of the most cliched places to operate in? Then again, the boy still lived with his mother, so it wasn't like he had any room to question their choices. He did have to give them credit for closing the bar to the public before hosting their meeting. Imagine how awkward it would be if some random person walked into a villain hangout area hoping for a beer…

Thankfully, no one asked for his ID or for him to remove his costume, so he was able to walk inside.

"The meeting will be held inside here," a man covered in mist informed the villains who had just entered, pointing to a staircase that would normally be hidden behind a shelf filled with alcoholic beverages.

The lack of security unnerved Izuku, but he knew that both the government and police don't check the dark-web as much as they should. Looking down the staircase, Izuku noticed that there were over a hundred villains inside. If a police force did manage to discover the meeting, they wouldn't stand a chance without some pro-heroes on their side. Even then, it should be a struggle.

Deciding that he didn't really want attention, the boy decided to sit in the back. Doing so granted him the ability to overhear some of the villains conversing with one another. Sadly, everyone in the room were small-time thugs or wannabe serial killers, so he didn't get any important information.

Eventually, the meeting began to start, with a man with several decaying hands attached to him taking the stage.

"Welcome everyone, the name's Tomura Shigaraki," the villain introduced himself. Izuku began to question why he'd reveal his real name, but remembered that some, if not most of these villains don't have much outside their villainous identities. These people were either forced to abandon their civilian identities upon being discovered or willingingly dropped them to fully embrace being a villain. "And today, we're all gathered because we share a similar desire: to end the so-called 'Symbol of Peace'!"

"Hell yeah!" Someone in the audience shouted, others cheering alongside him.

"For some of you, you want to kill All Might because you hate his stupid smile! Others want to do it for sport! As for others, you're tired of what he stands for! True peace my ass! The world's a shit-show and it's their fault! They prioritized others over you, probably because of something stupid. No matter our reasons, we can agree on one thing, that All Might must die!"

"Down with All Might!" Some of the villains began chanting this, but Izuku paid them no mind. Izuku was far more interested in Tomura himself. It was clear that the boy didn't like heroes and it was clear that the reason was because he was let down by one. No one came to save him in his time of need, just like how All Might failed to save Izuku. Just like him, Tomura saw that the current hero society was flawed and needed to be destroyed. He would make for a good ally to spread his message. However, Izuku felt that he was going about this the wrong way. Killing All Might won't do anything as another false idol could just take his place. No, the world needed to see that the current way of doing things was wrong, and the only way to do so was by teaching the heroes the true definition of pain.

"And I can kill him! You might all be asking yourselves, 'but Tomura, you're probably only a mid-boss compared to All Might. Well, what if I said that I've created an end-boss so powerful that All Might can't dream of beating?"

"Is such a thing even possible?" One of the villains murmured to her comrade, causing him to shrug.

"Introducing Nomu!"

Upon saying this, the mist man from the entrance opened a portal. From it emerged a large, black creature with its brain sticking out of its head. The monster was a good head or two taller than All Might and appeared as if it could match his physique.

"The hell is that thing?" One of the villains asked, obviously creeped out by Nomu. Izuku had to admit, he was a bit curious about it as well.

"This 'thing' is what will kill All Might!" Tomura said, crackling wildly. "It's been designed to do so, having multiple quirks!"

'Multiple quirks?' Izuku had no idea this was possible. Typically, the closest thing to a dual-quirk user were those who inherited both the quirks of their parents, but according to various DNA tests done on these individuals, their 'quirks' was actually a single one with different attributes.

"Yes! We all know All Might's quirk, whatever it is, makes him strong. However, Nomu here can compete with his strength and speed, having several strength-enhancing quirks injected into it. If that isn't enough, it also has shock absorption and super regeneration. It's made to be a punching bag that can fight back! With Nomu, All Might has no chance! However, I still need your help!" Whipping out a piece of paper, Tomura showed them what seemed to be some sort of class schedule. Further inspection would reveal that it was from U.A and it detailed some sort of exercise one of their classes in the heroics department will take part of outside the school's campus. "I managed to steal a schedule from U.A and according to it, All Might will be supervising a group of students at the school's USJ."

"U.A has a Universal Studios Japan?" A villain asked.

"No you idiot! USJ stands for Unforseen Simulation Joint!" Clearing his throat, Tomura continued. "Tomorrow, as the exercise is going on, Kurogiri will teleport us to the USJ." He motioned to the mist man. "We'll be getting rid of the other teachers and students while the Nomu works its magic! Tomorrow, the Symbol of Peace dies!"

Everyone began applauding, all while Izuku frowned.

'Tomorrow… that's sort of a late notice, not that I plan on going… wait? What am I thinking?' Izuku realized something, this was the perfect time to make his debut. Not only would the students be there, but so would All Might. He could kill two birds with one stone! In addition, he could educate Tomura on how inflicting tragedy on the heroes will wield more results than mindlessly murdering them. Two villains were better than one after all, especially if there was an entire organization behind one of them. 'This is perfect! Sorry Tomura, but I'm hijacking your show tomorrow…'

0000

It was the next day and Izuku was waiting in the bar, suit worn. When the time comes, Toruma will have Kurogiri teleport all the villains to the USJ.

Now, he was skipping school to do this, but Izuku didn't care. All he had to say was that a villain prevented him from going to school or something along those lines and his mom would let him off the hook. Right now, he was far too excited to really care about that.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, an alarm set on Kurogiri's phone rang, indicating that it was time to go to the USJ.

"Remember, your main targets are the kids and whatever pro-hero is there," Tomura reminded the other villains. "Once you do your job, you're more than welcome to get a hit in on All Might as long as you don't interrupt the Nomu."

With that, Kurogiri created several portals, each leading to a different part of the USJ. As the villains walked through, a maniacal smile began forming on Izuku's face as he made his way through the portal that would lead him to the center of the USJ alongside Tomura and Kurogiri.

'It's showtime!'

0000

Stepping out of the portal, Izuku was greeted with the sight of nineteen students and two teachers. The first people he was able to recognize were Eraserhead and Thirteen, two pro-heroes. Thirteen's quirk was called 'Black Hole' and allowed the hero to suck up anything by creating some sort of black hole. The second hero was Eraserhead, real name Shota Aizawa who had the ability to erase the quirks of anyone he made eye contact with.

'He's going to be a problem,' Izuku mentally told himself. If Eraserhead targeted him, his quirk will be erased.

The next person he noticed was Katsuki. 'Bakugou's here… good. I can begin improving him.'

Finally, his eyes made contact with another student's, causing him to grin under his mask. 'My first choice is here! How lucky can I be?'

"Hm… the only real heroes I see are Thirteen and Eraserhead." Kurogiri spoke. Izuku noticed that the villains besides him were getting annoyed that All Might wasn't around.

'Wait, where is he?' Izuku searched for the man, but couldn't find him. He then remembered something about the Symbol of Peace. 'Has he hit his limit?'

"Where the hell's All Might?" Tomura asked, venom laced in his voice. "The schedule said he was supposed to be here today…"

"I thought that we were doing rescue work today?" Izuku's target questioned the teachers, only to realize that all their attention was on the newcomers.

Shota, having realized what was going on, braced himself for combat. "Thirteen, protect the students! These are real villains!"

Izuku saw the students freeze, wondering what real villains were doing at the USJ.

"Where is he?" Tomura growled at the two heroes, loud enough for them to hear him. "I went through all the trouble of bringing so many friends who were eager to meet him. They want All Might, the great symbol of peace. I can't believe he's not here… maybe the sight of a few dead kids will get him to come…"

Izuku had to admit, targeting the students was a good way to bring out All Might. Limit or not, he'll come if there were children in danger.

"I'll hold them off. Thirteen, get the students out of here." Just like that, Eraserhead began making his way towards the crowd of villains stationed at the center of the USJ, the close ranged ones moving in to fight him.

Seeing this, Tomura turned to his partner. "Kurogiri, scatter them."

Upon receiving that command, Kurogiri began teleporting himself to the students. Izuku watched his target carefully, wondering how they'd respond to the threat of a villain. While reckless, his target ended up acting as heroically as he expected.

"You think we'd let you have your way with us?"

"It seems that you truly are the golden apples of your generation," Kurogiri said to the students. "Unfortunately, I do not have time to deal with you, so I must bid you ado."

Izuku blinked as everything around him came to a sudden stop. It was time for him to retrieve his target. Moving forwards, he snagged the student before Kurogiri could react, moving so fast that no one even noticed that one of the students had been taken…

0000

_" **It's a shame you have to go** ," Izuku said as he watched his target struggle for breath. " **You would've made a good hero.** "_

_"I...won't...let...you hurt," his target said, spitting up some blood. Izuku's target was still willing to fight, even when their bones were completely broken. "I… will… protect…"_

_" **Even when dying, you care about others before yourself. Now do you see why you have to die? I want others to mimic that and the only way they will is if they witness the death of someone close to them-** "_

_*BAM*_

_Izuku glanced at his target, stunned. His target shouldn't be able to move. Upon further inspection, he noticed they were using their quirk to support themselves._

_"I... don't... care... if... I... die! I'll... fight... till... my... final breath to stop you!"_

_" **You're amazing, you know that? You would've been number one easily**."_

_*Shick*_

_" **But I need more of you**."_

_His target could only watch in horror as Izuku's arm went right through their heart. Their vision fading, they fell down._

_" **I'm sorry you didn't get the chance to be the shield you always wanted to be. Don't worry though, I'll make sure that your friends will do what you couldn't. I'll save them, I promise...** "_

_That was the last thing they heard before death consumed them._

0000

Tomura was happy. His Nomu had managed to defeat Eraserhead while Kurogiri managed to incapacitate Thirteen and scatter the students. Sure, one of the students escaped and most of the thugs in his area had been defeated by Eraserhead, but everything else was going smoothly.

After reprimanding Kurogiri for his error, Tomura turned his attention towards the defeated Eraserhead. "Tch, All Might's taking too long." Scratching his neck in irritation, the villain noticed that two students were watching him, a girl with a frog-like appearance and a short boy with purple hair. "He should be punished for this." A sinister smile formed on the villain's face. "I wonder how All Might will react to some dead bodies."

Tomura rushed towards them without warning. Arm stretched, he was prepared to use his quirk on the frog girl, but when he touched her face, he noticed that his quirk wasn't working. Looking back at Eraserhead, he noticed the man was staring at him despite being utterly destroyed. Tomura gave the man an evil grin. "Even when down, you still fight. You're so cool Eraserhead!"

The Nomu smashed the hero's head in response, knocking him unconscious. Moving itself next to its master, it allowed for the other thugs to start surrounding the fallen hero. "Now, where was I?"

Suddenly, the doors of the USJ flung off their hinges, revealing All Might in all his glory.

"You villains made a mistake in attacking my students. "Why? Because I am here!"

Tomura stared at the hero. Something was off about him, but he couldn't put a finger on it, though it didn't take him long. For once, the pro-hero wasn't smiling.

Faster than Tomura could react, All Might knocked out every remaining thug he passed, rescued Shota from Nomu's clutches, and placed him safely away from the main bad guys.

"Finally! All Might is here!" Tomura said giddily. "Nomu, KILL-"

" _ **No!**_ "

Both Tomura and All Might froze, neither recognizing the voice. A blue streak suddenly ran past the two. Chills began running down their backs. It sounded absolutely demonic and outworldly.

" ** _All Might must fall…_** "

The hero in question began bracing himself, preparing to deal with this unknown enemy as another streak rushed by them.

" ** _But not like this…_** "

"Who's there?" Tomura growled as a third blue streak went past them, not liking the fact someone was interrupting his moment. "Show yourself!"

" ** _Show myself? Very well,_** " A final blue streak appeared, Izuku showing up between Tomura and All Might shortly after. " _ **Better?**_ "

"Who the hell are you?"

" _ **Tomura Shigaraki**_ ," Izuku said, addressing the villain. " _ **The hero society has failed you, so you seek revenge and to reform it. A world ruled by false gods like All Might… you wish to turn it into ash. Sadly, you're going about it the wrong way…**_ "

Tomura was pissed at someone questioning his methods. "The hell are you talking about?"

" _ **Killing All Might here won't do anything yet. When he dies, someone else will take his place as the Symbol of Peace-**_ "

"-Then I'll kill them too-"

" _ **And All Might will be remembered as the hero who fought until his very last breath to save a group of children. No matter what you do, this won't change. All Might will be remembered as a true hero and the same will go for all who die succeeding All Might.**_ "

"..." Tomura's anger turned to realization. Whoever this villain was, they were right. Killing All Might won't change anything. All it would do is give him temporary satisfaction.

" ** _But there is a way to defeat the Symbol of Peace and bring him down._** "

"How?" Tomura was now intrigued. Meanwhile, All Might was watching this interaction go down, taking extreme caution in terms of dealing with this newcomer.

" _ **Target his reputation as a hero.. The world thinks All Might can save anyone. Show them that's wrong. You need to make him fail. You need to inflict tragedy upon him and everyone around him! Make it so that people suffer for even talking to All Might. He can't save them all and will soon fall from his pedestal. Once he does, the world will lose hope in the idea of the**_ _ **heroes of today and it'll begin to recover! What's now the symbol of this broken world will become a symbol of change. Hopefully, All Might will realize his mistakes, but if he refuses to learn, then you kill him! There's no need for such poison in this world!**_ "

Tomura looked at the boy, eyes gleaming with mischief. He had been too near sighted. Everything this villain was saying made sense. In order to destroy the hero-world, he needed to break all of it, not just part of it, otherwise, it'll just keep rebuilding itself.

" _ **Let me show you what I mean.**_ " Izuku turned his attention towards All Might. " ** _Look at your students All Might. Notice something?_** "

The possibility of one of his students being in danger caused the man to obey Izuku's command. Glancing at them, he noticed that all of them seemed to be gathering near the doorway, eying the scene. 'What is he talking about?' Deciding to play it safe, the hero began doing a headcount, only for his blood to freeze when he noticed something. Someone was missing. Clenching his fists, he turned to Izuku. "You… what did you do to my student?!"

*ZIP*

" _ **He's right here.**_ "

All Might glanced at Izuku and what he saw horrified him. In his hands was the corpse of one of his students.

" ** _Ejiro Kirishima, he could have been a great hero,_** " Izuku said. " ** _But because of scum like you who dare call yourselves heroes, I had to kill him to teach you a lesson_**."

Tears began forming around All Mights eyes as he continued to look at his now deceased student. Ejiro's quirk granted him the ability to harden his skin, yet it seems that Izuku managed to chip through the boy's hardened body with ease. Several scratch marks and craters were present, with a hole going straight through his heart. For the first time in a while, All Might failed to save someone, someone who was put into danger because he chose to work at U.A. He should've known that there was a chance villains would try targeting U.A as a means of getting to him.

" ** _You failed him All Might. You failed to protect him. It's because of you that he had to die._** ** _Do you understand?_** ** _You should've been better, you know how to be better, but you refused to be, and that cost Ejiro his life."_**

All Might's sadness soon turned into rage. If he was angry when he arrived at the USJ, he was practically a volcano now. "YOU MONSTER! YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

Rushing forwards, All Might prepared to strike Izuku in the face. With the speed he was going at, no one should have been able to react, but Izuku did. Holding his hand in front of him, Izuku snapped, sending a devastating shockwave that threw the Symbol of Peace back.

" _ **Tragedy must be able to teach you.**_ " Izuku glanced at the remaining students, taking in their reactions. Some were crying due to Ejiro's death, some were angry, and others were fearful of this new villain. He just knocked All Might backwards after all, something hardly anyone was able to do. " _ **Tragedy must teach you all! To become the best heroes you can be, you must know what it's like to suffer.**_ "

"YOU WON'T HURT ANYONE ELSE! AS LONG AS I'M HERE, I'LL MAKE SURE TO PROTECT EVERYONE." Standing right back up, All Might flew forwards, using all his strength now. It mattered little to Izuku, who with a measly backhand, sent All Might flying back to his original spot.

" ** _He's not getting the lesson,_** " Izuku mumbled under his breath. " ** _He's still pretending to be invincible._** " Izuku turned to Tomura, who had been absolutely enjoying the show, and back to the students. " _ **Time to expose a false God.**_ _**How would all of you like to know All Might's greatest secret?**_ "

"YES!" Tomura shouted as if he was a child watching a movie. The students didn't respond. Either way, Izuku was going to continue.

" _ **All Might prides himself in being unbeatable-**_ "

*ZIP*

"PFFFT!"

" ** _But that's a lie_**." Everyone watched in either horror or glee as All Might spat up a massive amount of blood. Izuku had struck him in his weak spot hard enough to cause the man to revert to his non-powered form. To say everyone was shocked would be an understatement. " ** _All Might is nothing special without his power!_** "

"Sensei was right, he is weakened…" Tomura said, the sight of All Might's weakened form filling him with absolute joy. The students on the other hand were shocked. Was this really All Might?

Izuku eyed the man, All Might unable to do anything but look back at him, shocked that someone knew his weakness. " ** _Just look at him. His fighting spirit's destroyed_**. **_This is the true All Might, a hack who only talks big but is nothing when faced with a challenge he can't hit."_** Izuku scoffed as he continued to speak. " ** _Let's not forget your pitiful display when that Sludge Villain was engulfing that poor boy. You left him to die because you were without your power, even when the villain had such a glaring weakness that a genius like you should’ve worked out. You're lucky Kamui Woods decided to risk being burnt to a crisp and got him out in time, otherwise you'd have the deaths of two children on your hands."_** Izuku moved forwards so he was face-to-face with his former idol, his demonic mask staring straight into his soul. ** _"If this is how you deal with hardship, then you_** _ **have much to learn All Might**_." Moving backwards, he turned to Tomura. " _ **I think that's enough for now. Let's go and give everyone some time to process what they've learned.**_ "

Nodding, Tomura signaled for Kurogiri to open the portal. Normally, he'd protest, but he desperately wanted some alone time with his now second-favorite villain, hoping to convince him to join the League of Villains.

Izuku stared at All Might and the students one last time. " ** _I want you all to remember something; sometimes you must HURT in order to KNOW, FALL in order to GROW, LOSE in order to GAIN, because life's greatest lessons are learned through PAIN. If you don't know what it's like to be the people you're saving, then can you really call yourself a hero? Don't worry though, I will make sure all of you grow, I promise._** "

"Who...are you?"

Izuku looked at the weakened All Might, the hero desperately trying to buff up. Izuku however managed to hit him hard enough to disable his transformation for a while. He was going to enjoy watching the media report on All Might's weakened form...

" _ **Who am I? I'm someone who’s seen how your actions have hurt people. I'm the one who's witnessed the flaws of this world which you hide from the public .**_ " Turning his back towards the Symbol of Peace, Izuku began making his way to the portal. " ** _I am the cure to the disease known as heroes. I am the prophet that'll lead everyone to the light. I am Zoom._** "

Entering the portal, he left All Might and the students to pick up the pieces.

Unknown to them, this wasn't the last time they would see Zoom. No, this was only the beginning…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note 2: Alright, I know you guys have some questions, so I'll do my best to answer them.
> 
> 1\. Q: Izuku seems extremely OP in this fic, is this intentional? A: Yes it is. If you know about the comic book Hunter Zoloman, then you know how powerful he is. He's curb-stomped the Wally West Flash (the strongest of the Flashes) numerous times, even when Wally absorbed both Jessie Quick and Jay Garrick’s speed. He's taken hits from the likes of Power Girl and Wonder Woman without much injury. Wonder Woman even says that he hits harder than Superman. He even punched Flash from a hospital to a mountain far away and tackled him from Rome to China. The only ways he's beaten is through poor writing (seriously, the way Wonder Woman beat him, by predicting his movements, was so BS) or plot convenience. Izuku in this fic is a force of nature and an ideal mixed into one, not something that can be defeated by any ordinary means. His powers would also help him train faster, hence why the training montage wasn't anything big. People forget that characters with the abilities of Zoom and Flash could learn something that would take someone years to learn in seconds.
> 
> 2\. Q: Will you be bashing All Might and Katsuki in this fic? A: No. Even though I have three fics where Izuku goes against All Might, I actually really like All Might. I enjoy the fact that even though he's a Symbol of Peace, he isn't perfect. However, keep in mind that even though this story is written in third person, Izuku's POV plays a huge part in the narrative. Here, he is against All Might, so he won't see him in a flattering light. However, he does wish to help him become a better hero. As for Katsuki, Izuku does hold some resentment for how the boy has treated him (he is human after all), but he does wish to also help him become the best hero he can be. Of course, Izuku's methods might not be the most noble. Resentment will play little to no role in this story.
> 
> 3\. Q: Why did best boi Kirishima have to die? A: He was one of the pillars of class 1-A, so his death would be most impactful. I love Kirishima as much as everyone else does, but sadly, as this Izuku would say, some sacrifices are needed to make the world right. It was a close call between him and Ochako who would be biting the bullet, but the former's death does set the stage for some other characters in the future.
> 
> 4\. Q: What version of Hunter Zoloman/Zoom did you use? A: I used the CW Zoom's costume (but made it green and blue) while using the comic Zoom's motives and powers. I didn't like that they made Zoloman just another speedster in the TV show, but I adore what they did with his costume. Don't get me wrong, his comic costume is great as well, but in a world where Flash doesn't exist, there's no reason to use that costume. 
> 
> Oh, I have a fun challenge for a story someone could do: making a Reverse Flash Izuku. In this story, Izuku aims to take All Might's place as the Symbol of Peace, similar to how Eobard Thawne aims to steal Barry Allen's identity in his debut, but ends up going down a dark path doing so. He has Reverse Flash's powers obviously. I'd do it myself, but with all my current stories, plus three other stories I want to publish, it'd just take me too much time. Instead, I've decided to give it to you guys to try writing. You don't have to ask me for permission or give me credit :-)


	3. Evening the Odds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone deals with the aftermath of Zoom's attack while the villain himself takes another life...

“ _Constant repetition carries conviction_ ”- Robert Collier 

0000

“That...was...amazing!” Tomura shouted in childlike glee upon being returned to the bar. He had every reason to be happy. Sure, All Might hadn’t died, but he’d been thoroughly humiliated. His weakness was exposed and he had learned that All Might was an even bigger fraud than he thought. He was just an ordinary person who was lucky enough to be able to play hero for a short amount of time until his quirk stopped functioning. When faced with a challenge he couldn’t hit, he completely collapsed. Even better was that he didn’t have to use the Nomu, meaning it could be used later for another attack or plan. While he was confident it could defeat All Might, there was always that small chance that the ‘Symbol of Peace’ could pull off a miracle and beat it somehow. He wasn’t the highest ranking hero in the world for no reason. “Holy crap, did you see All Might’s face?! I don’t think I’ll ever forget it!”

“I’m glad you’re pleased Tomura,” Kurogiri said as his boss began cracking to himself. Unlike the young adult, the mist-man had little faith that his plan would work. The only reason why he followed Tomura’s orders was because he was ordered to watch over the boy by his master. He wasn’t expecting there to be a capable villain from the group of thugs Tomera recruited, so imagine how astounded he was when it turned out one managed to excel All Might in strength. Such was certainly a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. 

“Pleased? Kurogiri, I’m far more than just pleased. I’m ecstatic!”

“ **_That’s good. I thought you’d be upset that I hijacked your moment._ **” Exiting the portal, Izuku couldn’t help but smile. Everything went perfectly on his end. He did what he wanted to do and left. Izuku knew his old self would be disgusted with what he’d just done. A kid was dead, several more were probably traumatized, and All Might’s secret was exposed. He had done all of that with no remorse, hell, he should be traumatized seeing as this was the first time he killed someone. However, even if he tried, he couldn’t make himself feel bad. He wasn’t the same Izuku he was nine months ago. He was a new man with a new purpose, one which requires him to travel down a bloody path. Ejiro’s death was tragic, yes, but it was necessary and more will follow. He’s fully accepted all of this, and it was this acceptance that was making him feel great at the moment. He was succeeding in his mission. 

Tomura smiled at the younger villain. “I would’ve, but you put on such a great show! Fuck, I don’t think All Might’s death would’ve been nearly as satisfying.” 

“ **_Yeah. There’s nothing better than seeing a phony being exposed_ ** **.** ”

“Right?!” Tomura threw out another sinister laugh. Upon calming down, he turned towards Izuku. “So Zoom, how would you like to join ‘The League of Villains’?”

Upon seeing the boy in action, Tomura knew he had to try recruiting him. Not only did he crush All Might, but two seemed to share the same hatred for the Hero Society. 

“ **_I’m honored, but I’ll have to decline,_ ** ” Izulu replied, causing Tomura’s mood to dampen. Before the older villain could say anything, Izuku began explaining himself. “ **_We have different goals. You wish to destroy, I wish to teach. We have our own legacies to make. However, our goals do interlace with one-another, so if you ever need help, I am willing to do team-ups if we both can benefit from it. I hope that’s a fair compromise._ **”

“...” Tomura stood silent, worrying Kurogiri. Tomura was a rowdy individual, so whenever he was silent, it meant that something bad was about to happen. However, the boy gave Izuku a sinister yet happy smile. “Team-ups, huh? Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to having an non-playable ally at times, especially one as broken as you. And you’re right, our quests are different!” Tomura was able to recognize this about them. Izuku was more interested in ‘fixing’ the Hero Society while Tomura was more interested in removing it as a whole. It would be better if they carried out their plans alone. 

“ **_I’m glad you understand_ **.” Izuku really did. Tomura was a great ally to have on his side, the boy sensing immense potential in him. Once he finds his foot in villainy, Izuku believes Tomura would be a great bane to all who oppose him. It also helped that he felt the two covered different grounds in regards to villainy. The way Izuku saw it, he was the villain meant to steer everyone down the correct path while Tomura was meant to be the villain that would force the heroes to use their new knowledge to try defeating him. As he learned, sometimes a villain is necessary to make the heroes grow. 

Quickly glancing at the bar’s clock, Izuku noticed it was getting late and that it was best he returned home. “ **_Sadly, I need to go, but give me your contact info so we can partner up again sometime._ **” 

“Of course.” Signaling for Kurogiri to pass him a pen and paper, Tomura began writing down his contact information. Upon finishing, Tomura handed Izuku the paper. 

“ **_Thank you. I can see us becoming great friends. Sorry that I can't stay longer, but I have a secret identity I have to keep. Bye for now Tomura_ **.”

*ZIP*

Quicker than Tomura or Kurogiri could process, Izuku left the bar.

“So cool.”

“Tomura, we have an incoming call from All For One,” Kurogiri informed the boy, the mist-man’s phone buzzing.

All of Tomura’s attention immediately went towards Kurogiri. “Well, answer it! It’s not polite to keep Sensei waiting!” 

Accepting the call, the flatscreen TV in the bar suddenly turned on, the image of a masked individual being displayed. 

“Sensei! It’s great to see you!”

“Likewise,” All For One said. He was the ‘Symbol of Evil’ and All Might’s arch-nemesis. Having been alive for centuries, it was believed that he had perished in a battle against All Might. However, he had survived and had managed to wound the ‘Symbol of Peace’ significantly. He himself was severely wounded in return, needing a special mask to survive. Hiding in the shadows, he found a new goal, to make Tomura the greatest villain he can be. After all, he cared for the boy as evident by the fact that despite the immense authority seeping through his voice, a hint of fondness could be found in the way the otherwise apathetic man addressed his pupil. “You seem to be in a good mood. Did you succeed in your mission?”

“Nope,” Tomura said with a smile, confusing the villain. All For One understood his protégé had severe anger issues, so seeing him so happy after failing to kill All Might was odd. Glancing around the bar, the man noticed how nothing was destroyed. Typically destruction followed an upset Tomura so with everything intact, it looks like the boy was fine. “But something better happened!”

“Oh?” All For One was intrigued. Tomura hated All Might to the point where he’d fantasize about killing the hero personally, so to hear that he experienced something greater than achieving his dream was certainly newsworthy. 

“Yes Sensei. I discovered you were right! All Might is weakened!” Tomura informed his teacher. “And I didn’t even have to have the Nomu fight him! A party member did so instead.” Another giddy laugh escaped the man. “When I was out recruiting some for the mission, I was only looking for enough cannon fodder to keep the other heroes busy. I didn’t know I’d accidentally recruit an overleveled character. Sensei, you should’ve seen him! You should’ve seen how he defeated All Might!”

Now this was news to All For One. It was commonly accepted that All Might was ‘undefeatable’, rivaled only by himself in strength, so to hear that someone else beat All Might in a fight was huge. “He did?”

“Yes! He swept him. It wasn’t even close. Sensei, he sent All Might flying twice with first a slap and then a snap of his fingers! It was so cool! When All Might got back up for round three, he punched him in his left gut and exposed a weak spot.”

If All For One wasn’t interested before, he was now. From what Tomura was saying, this villain beat All Might without breaking a sweat. Whoever this villain was, he was dangerous, far more dangerous than what mankind believed was possible. He even knew All Might’s weak area, one of the most well kept secrets in the world. “Did you find out who did so?”

“He calls himself Zoom,” Tomura stated. “He never took off his mask or gave me his real name. I think he has some speed based quirk since he was faster than All Might and took a kid without Kurogiri noticing.”

“It is true,” Kurogiri informed his master. “The child was in front of me and Zoom took him before I could teleport him away. I did not see him do so. One minute the child was there, the next he was not. The child was killed if you wish to know his fate. Zoom seemed to wish to prove that All Might could fail by killing one of his students.”

“Interesting…” A claim that someone is faster than All Might is nothing to take lightly. The very few people who are faster than All Might were only beat him in terms of maximum movement speed. When it comes to reactionary speed, the number one hero currently is the fastest known person, allowing him to strike and defeat those who have a faster movement speed than him. For Zoom to move as fast as Tomura said he did, he must have an extremely impressive quirk. Either that or he managed to master the (in his eyes, underrated) field of science and discovered the means of increasing his speed without a quirk. Either way, All For One was immensely intrigued by this new villain. 

“I invited him to the League of Villains, but he declined,” Tomura said with a shrug. “But he said he was willing to ally himself with us.”

“Is that so?” All For One smiled under his mask. It seems that the two will be meeting soon, a meeting the man was more than looking forward to having. He was also happy to see Tomura making new allies, especially one whom he would have a position of power over. His student typically didn’t play nice with others. “That’s good. Allies are important to have, even when those allies are not part of your organization. It’s an important lesson you must learn and I praise the fact you are handling such a lesson maturely.” 

“Thank you sensei.”

“Not a problem.” If anyone could see his mouth, they would notice that All For One began smiling even more, perhaps the most he’s ever smiled in over a hundred years. “Now, take the day off and celebrate the fall of All Might. It’s not everyday that one can claim they watched the defeat of the ‘Symbol of Peace’ after all.” 

0000

Inko Midoriya was worried. It has been two hours since Izuku was supposed to arrive home from school and he had yet to do so. Even worse was that she received a phone call thirty minutes ago letting her know that he hadn’t even shown up to school. It wasn’t like Izuku to skip school, so she was naturally afraid for his safety. 

She was about to call the police to launch an investigation for his whereabouts when she heard someone ring the doorbell.

*DING DONG*

Opening the door, she noticed her son was standing outside, his clothes bagged up and several bruises on his face. His backpack was also missing. 

“IZUKU!” Tears forming around her eyes, Inko grabbed her baby boy and hugged him closely. “What happened?!”

“I got kidnapped by a villain while walking to school,” Izuku said, fear evident in his voice. “A hero saved me and some others.”

“Oh thank goodness!” The two tightened their hug, Inko not knowing her son was lying to her. Izuku knew that she wouldn’t check the validity of his claims if he said he was kidnapped, so such was the perfect cover-up story to tell her. He even punched himself a few times and destroyed his phone and backpack to make the story more believable. While he did feel somewhat bad at first that his mother would be forced to buy him replacements for the stuff he ‘lost’, it all went away once he went to the USJ. His family was decently well off, and even if they weren’t, his goal was worth more to him than any amount of money. As for what he did with his costume, he simply dropped it off at his place before he presented himself to his mother, moving so fast that no one would have noticed. He actually managed to collect the footage from the cameras he hid at the USJ during this time and began uploading them to the web while also delivering copies to various news stations. When did he set up said cameras in the first place? Right before he went off to fight Ejiro. He had the ability to run around the world at speeds possibly faster than that of light, so such a task was not a problem for him. 

“C’mon, let’s make you some katsudon,” Inko said, leading her son inside, unaware of the atrocities he’s committed. 

0000

It didn’t take long for All Might’s true form to make it to the news. Videos of Zoom and All Might’s battle had circulated around the web before major news sites began to report on the historical event. Being spread alongside this were Zoom’s words. Everything from All Might’s failure to rescue Katsuki from the Sludge Villain to Zoom’s desire to fix the Hero Society were caught on camera. 

The events began to divide the public into four groups. The first one insisted that All Might’s weakness didn’t make him less of a ‘Symbol of Peace’ and that the Hero Society was fine. The second group disliked the fact All Might lied to them, but were still willing to accept him as a hero. Like the first group, they saw nothing wrong with the Hero Society. The third group denounced All Might’s status as a ‘Symbol of Peace’ and understood what Izuku meant about the Hero Society being flawed, but showed an immense amount of distaste for how Zoom decided to spread such a message. He did kill a child after all. The final group were those who sympathised with Zoom, denouncing All Might and the hero society as a whole while encouraging his actions. Naturally, the first and third group were the largest groups, with the second group following relatively close behind. The last group was an extreme minority as Zoom was not only a villain, but a murderer. 

Speaking of Zoom, the villain has become the most talked about subject in the world. Zoom’s fame seemingly happened overnight, especially seeing as how reports of All Might’s defeat came mere hours after it had occurred, though such was to be expected. All Might was a pillar of hope and strength, a god amongst men, and Zoom crushed him without any effort. That alongside his motives and theories about his quirk made him infamous quickly. 

Zoom caused so much ruckus in such a short amount of time, making it difficult for people to manage the chaos he’s brought. Unknown to the world, they wouldn’t have much time to pick up the pieces as Zoom would strike again three weeks later… 

0000

With everything that happened at the USJ, U.A closed the school for an entire week to allow their students to recover. Naturally, they knew a week wouldn’t be enough, especially for 1-A who saw one of their comrades perish in a gruesome manner, but it was still something. The adults themselves, all of them being pro-heroes, still had to work though, them being meant to undergo damage control. 

“It’s unfortunate we have to have this meeting, but it must be done,” Nezu, the rat/bear/dog hybrid principal of U.A said to his colleagues. The meeting consisted of Present Mic, All Might, Midnight, Vlad King, Power Loader, Cementoss, and Hound Dog; all of whom were both heroes and teachers at U.A. Eraserhead was there as well, but he was wheelchair bound due to his encounter with the Nomu. “I assume you all know why you’re here, correct?”

“How can we not?” Present Mic replied, the usually upbeat hero’s mood being dampened. 

Nezu gave him a solemn nod. “Well, let’s get this meeting started, shall we? First off, we must discuss Zoom. We have no records on the villain, suggesting that he decided to use the attack at the USJ as the moment to kickstart his villainous career. As a villain, Zoom looks to be the type eager for attention, based on the fact he monologues. His motive seems to be a hatred for the Hero-Society, seeing flaws in it that he wishes to fix. However, he desires to do so through violence and trauma, claiming that experiencing such phenomena is the only way heroes can be ‘fixed’.” Nezu then turned to All Might. “Did I miss anything?

All Might, now in his non-quirked form, shook his head. “No. It’s like you said, he expressed an immense hatred for heroes and the Hero-Society of today and was both willing to take young Kirishima’s life as a means of inflicting trauma and reveal my weakness to everyone. He genuinely believes that trauma teaches people.”

“He’s a nut job if he thinks that killing people’s appropriate for a lesson,” Vlad King loudly grumbled, disturbed by the new villain. 

Hound Dog nodded in agreement. “He is, but don’t let that take away from the fact that Zoom’s also smart. He found out All Night’s secret after all.”

“Couldn’t he have found out from that other villain, Tomura Shigaraki?” Power Loader asked. “From what we know, Shigaraki was the one who planned the attack. That thing he called a Nomu was supposedly equipped to deal with All Might to begin with.”

“Zoom already knew of my weakness beforehand,” All Might explained. “He showed it to Shigaraki for the first time during the USJ catastrophe.”

“The Nomu had multiple quirks,” Eraserhead added. “Super strength, shock absorption and regeneration from what I remember him telling me. It’s possible that Shigaraki thought it would be strong enough to beat All Might.”

“It is because of this that we are looking into Shigaraki as we speak. He appears to be dangerous himself, especially if he’s able to create more of those Nomus, which is why he’s been listed as an S rank villain. However, from what we know, neither Zoom or Shigaraki are a team, rather, they are allies. They also have expressed different goals. Shigaraki wanted to kill All Might. Zoom wanted to humiliate him so he could teach one of his ‘lessons’.”

The 18+ pro-hero and U.A teacher Midnight frowned. “What could have caused him to hate the Hero Society this much?”

“The Hero Society has many flaws,” Eraserhead responded. “It’s possible that Zoom noticed this and decided to do something about it. He must’ve targeted All Might specifically due to him being ‘The Symbol of Peace’. The world saw All Might as the pillar holding up the Hero Society. Now that he’s been beaten, the pillar’s been destroyed and now everyone is panicking.” 

“The ‘Symbol of Peace’ model was supposed to be temporary,” All Might stated, staring down in shame. “I was only supposed to motivate others to rise up while fighting villains myself. Instead, I let it continue for much longer than what was healthy. People began seeing All Might as more than a hero and Zoom must’ve disliked that. He probably thought that no one should be held that high.” The man clenched his bony hand. “I messed up. I should've done more to prevent this from happening.” 

“While it is true that you allowed the ‘Symbol of Peace’ model to survive longer than it needed to, there was no way you could have known that something like this would’ve happened,” Nezu said. “I know you only wished to help people. You’ll have to explain this to them during your press conference however so they understand why you hid your injury.”

All Might slowly nodded in understanding. The press conference Nezu was referring to was one where the hero would have to address the worries of the public regarding the emergence of Zoom. 

Nezu continued to speak. “The Hero Public Safety Administration has begun shifting most of their attention to finding him. As of now, no one knows anything about him, including his true identity and quirk. The only lead we have is that it grants him the ability to move at superhuman speeds. Naturally, finding him is not only Japan’s top priority, but a priority worldwide. His assigned villain ranking also reflects this. Due to his actions, strength, and intellect, the Hero Public Safety Administration has ranked Zoom as an SS rank villain. Even with only one known incident, they believe this is an accurate representation of his danger level. This makes him the second SS ranked villain to ever exist, the first being All For One. He also seems to have found an audience, making him all the more dangerous.” 

No one had any objection to Zoom’s ranking. He accomplished what was once thought to be impossible, so he deserved to be ranked so highly.

The principal paused to see if anyone else wanted to speak. Seeing as no one else had anything to say, Nezu resumed the meeting. “Finally, I’ll begin discussing what we will be doing moving forwards. First off, U.A will be building dorms which will hopefully be completed next month. Cementoss is overseeing their construction.” 

Cementoss nodded in confirmation.

“The students have already been directly targeted by Zoom once. The dorm systems will help keep them. Other hero schools will be following us in this regard. Secondly, we will continue to have the Sports Festival.”

“Is that really a good idea?” Hound Dog asked Nezu. Several of the other teachers shot Nezu a look stating that they agreed with their colleague.

“Despite all that has happened, we must remain strong,” Nezu stated. “The Sports Festival is meant to be a sign of solidarity between the current heroes and upcoming heroes, a message that heroes are willing to do whatever it takes to keep people safe. If we were to not host it this year, it would reflect poorly of us. U.A will be upping our security measures drastically though, making sure we have a lot of capable heroes watching over the premises. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads, having nothing more to contribute.

“Very well then. I believe this meeting is over. Let us prepare for what’s to come.”

0000

Katsuki was enraged. Those who’ve met the boy might ask why this even mattered. The explosive blonde was always mad at something. This time however, the sheer anger he was feeling was beyond anything he’s ever felt. 

The source? Everything that went down at the USJ.

It wasn’t a secret that Katsuki desired to be a hero to prove he was the best. To him, being the best meant being on top and what was a greater display of his skills than being the highest ranking hero in the world? 

Like most people, All Might was someone he admired. He was everything Katsuki saw himself as; undefeatable, powerful, and intimidating. He was proof that heroes were the victors in life while the villains were helpless to fight back. Katsuki wished to soar as high as All Might and that meant taking his spot. He wanted to steal All Might’s throne and claim it for himself. 

Then Zoom came along. Now, Katsuki cared little about the crap he was spilling about ‘reformation’ or whatever, but everything he said about All Might, everything he did to the hero, would be engraved in his mind forever. He battled All Might and defeated him. He made All Might, a symbol of strength, look weak. No, that’s wrong. He proved All Might was weak. Undeserving of his throne. The man could only be a hero for a limited amount of time before turning into a skeleton. What kind of number one hero was he? 

Even worse, All Might had left him to die. His weakness left him to die. If he was truly indestructible like Katsuki thought he was, he would’ve used his quirk and saved him. Instead, he watched helplessly as he nearly suffocated to death. Kamui Woods, an upcoming hero, showed more strength than him by overcoming his own weakness to save him. How could All Might even dare call himself a hero after that? How many people has he left to die because of his weakness? It was logical to conclude that Ejiro and him weren’t the only ones All Might allowed to die. 

Heroes were meant to be undefeatable, the highest honor bestowed upon the strong. All Might didn’t deserve to be called one. Heroes needed to be powerful all the time. His former idol wasn’t. 

In Katsuki’s mind, it was All Might’s patheticness that allowed Zoom, a villain, to take the throne he’s been gunning for all his life. As such, Katsuki couldn’t forgive him. 

“Fuck All Might! I’ll kill that bastard myself!”

This was the new goal Katsuki Bakugou would pursue. He aimed to be a hero to prove he was the strongest person alive. Now he would prove he was by being the one to defeat Zoom…

If only he knew who Zoom really was… 

0000

All Might sighed. He was about to address the world in regards to Zoom. Admittedly, he was a bit nervous as this was his first time talking to others after a defeat, but he hoped by remaining honest that he would win over the public. 

Remaining in his skinny form, All Might stepped on stage, taking a good look at his audience. Everyone looked eager to hear what he had to say, with some looking nervous. He couldn’t blame them seeing as someone like Zoom was running about. 

Deciding it was best to get the show on the road, All Might began to speak. “Hello everyone, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Toshinori Yagi and I am All Might. I know that this may come as a shock to some of you, but this is how I truly look. It is only because of my quirk that I look like how I’m known to look. Today, I’m here to tell you something about myself that I’ve kept secret for a while. My time is running out. During a battle with a ferocious villain, I was wounded, limiting how long I could keep my quirk active for. I initially became the ‘Symbol of Peace’ because Japan was in a rough state back when I wasn’t a hero and I wanted to do something about it. I aimed to be someone people could look up to and to encourage others to become heroes in their own right. The ‘Symbol of Peace’ was only meant to be an idea and not a person. It is unfortunate that this was the way I needed to let you all know this. However, with the emergence of Zoom, I thought it would be best to do so. Zoom has hurt people and I refuse to let him continue doing so. As such, I ask that you all not only support me in stopping him, but that you also believe in the other heroes actively hunting him. I shouldn’t have to ask you to do so, but I think that stopping Zoom is the least I can do to redeem myself. I promise you all that I will not rest until justice has been served. Thank you. And remember to always go-” All Might buffed up as a means of increasing his presence- “PLUS ULTRA!”

Cheers and the sounds of clapping began echoing from the place All Might was speaking at. Despite this, the hero found it worrying that it only seemed to be half as loud as usual. To him, it meant that a significant number of people have already lost hope in heroes… 

0000

Endeavor, the number two ranked hero, sneered as he watched All Might’s press-conference. Everyone who knew the hero personally knew he had a one-sided rivalry with the man, his goal being to take All Might’s position as the top hero of the world. 

“I thought you were supposed to be strong,” Endeavor growled as he stared at the weakened form of All Might. The All Might he knew was an imposing figure, but the man right now looked ready to snap in half if the wind was to change direction. “But you’re actually weak.”

Endeavor couldn’t believe he spent his whole life chasing after All Might’s spot. He couldn’t believe that he had to. In the man’s eyes, he was now far stronger than the ‘Symbol of Peace’. Whereas All Might could only use his quirk for a few hours, Endeavor had no such limit. 

“Looks like I’m about to become the number one hero,” the man smirked to himself. Initially, he was willing to pass that honor off to the son he groomed for such a purpose, him counting it as a win in his book, but now he had a change.

Too bad the man didn’t really know what it was that made All Might the highest ranking hero in the first place. Like Katsuki, he was more interested in acquiring power rather than everything else being a hero entitled… 

0000

*TWIP!*

“So he was a fake too…”

*TWACK!*

“HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?!”

Inside of an abandoned apartment building, a man was throwing knives at a poster of All Might. The man’s name? Chizome Akaguro, but he was best known as the S rank villain Stain: The Hero Killer. As his name suggests, Stain’s claim to fame was him murdering several pro-heroes. Currently, the Hero Killer has killed seventeen heroes and crippled twenty-two others.

Why did he kill and cripple so many heroes? It was because he hated heroes. To him, heroes were fake, just wannabe celebrities. None of them were truly genuine, and that infuriated him. The title of ‘hero’ was one that was tainted by people who cared more about money and fame than saving others and Stain desired to return it to its former glory, which by itself is a noble goal.

What was not noble was how he went about doing so, which involved killing heroes he saw as fake. Naturally, this was all of them, all except one.

All Might was the only hero he saw as genuine. The man desired to help the world, the fame not being something he focused on. As such, Stain swore that he would only allow himself to be captured by him. All other heroes would perish trying to fight him. 

*TWIP!*

“YOU WERE A LIAR JUST LIKE THEM!”

*TWACK!*

Sadly, that all changed when he saw news reports about his idol. 

‘ **_Let's not forget your pitiful display when that Sludge Villain was engulfing that poor boy. You left him to die because you were without your power, even when the villain had such a glaring weakness that a genius like you should've worked out._ ** **’**

Those words uttered by Zoom shot Stain right through the heart. All Might was willing to let a child die due to his lack of power. A real hero, Stain believed, would’ve rushed in with no hesitation. Quirk or not, a true hero was always willing to do the right thing. The fact that All Might stood back when he couldn’t use his quirk told Stain that his former idol wasn’t a genuine hero. 

*TWIP!*

“YOU’RE ONLY WHO YOU ARE BECAUSE OF YOUR QUIRK!”

*TWACK!*

Stain felt stupid, stupid for worshipping a false hero while preaching for their removal. Gathering his knives, the man sat down and stared out the window, done with his poster.

“There are no true heroes.” 

**_‘Who am I? I'm someone who's seen how your actions have hurt people. I'm the one who's witnessed the flaws of this world which you hide from the publicI am the cure to the disease known as heroes. I am the prophet that'll lead everyone to the light. I am Zoom._ **’

Glancing to his left, Stain focused his attention onto a picture of Zoom. “You knew this, didn’t you?”

Replacing All Might as his idol was Zoom. Zoom was the one who revealed All Might’s lies and the one who shared a similar goal to him. In addition, Zoom held conviction, something which Stain found to be important. For Stain, power wielded without conviction was a sin, hence another reason why he hated the heroes of today. Zoom however held the conviction necessary to fight for a cause, said cause being the reworking of society. 

**_‘If you don't know what it's like to be the people you're saving, then can you really call yourself a hero? Don't worry though, I will make sure all of you grow, I promise.’_ **

“I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next,” Stain said to himself. “The heroes need you. Perhaps we’ll meet one day. Until then, I’ll keep doing my part in making sure the fakes stop flourishing.”

Filled with motivation, the Hero Killer left his apartment, eager to find his next victim. 

0000

_“Hey Ashido, I realized something. It’s ok to be afraid. Everyone feels it sometimes. However, people will die if I let it stop me. I don’t want to live my life regretting what I could’ve done, so I’ll push forward no matter what! I’ll be the manliest hero to ever exist, watch me!”_

_“I don’t know where this energy came from, but keep it up and you’ll be a great hero. I’ll be cheering for you!”_

‘You finally found your spirit, but you never got to use it. Why? Why did you have to die?’

Out of everyone in 1-A, it was Mina Ashido who was most affected by Ejiro’s death. Such is to be expected seeing as the two were childhood friends. Growing up together, the two shared the dream of becoming a hero. There was a problem however; back then Ejiro wasn’t the confident and rowdy individual he was during his time at U.A. Instead, he was a shy and timid boy who often found himself on the receiving end of bullying. This contrasted with Mina’s free-spirited nature, her being the type of person to chase off bullies. 

_“How do you do it?”_

_“How do I do what?”_

_“Deal with bullies. Aren’t you scared?”_

_“Yeah, I am, but I still do it. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like my legs moved on their own.”_

_“I wish I was more like you…”_

_“You don’t need to. You’re great as you are. You just need more confidence in yourself.”_

Such was a conversation they would have often, but his confidence never seemed to rise. It didn’t help that he also felt poorly about his quirk. 

_“Hey, your quirk’s useful! You can take hits that others can’t.”_

_“I know, but I think there’s definitely people who can take hits better than me who have flashy quirks.”_

No matter how much Mina tried to encourage her friend, he would still think poorly of himself. However, the boy would soon find his spirit… 

_Ejiro watched as two of his classmates were being harassed by a villain of immense stature. He wanted to rush in and help them, but his legs wouldn’t move. He could tell that the villain could rip him in half, even if he were to use his quirk._

_‘Why?’_

_He desperately begged his body to move, to do anything besides shake in place, but his mental pleas fell upon deaf ears._

_‘Why am I such a coward?!’_

_Those two girls were going to die, the villain becoming more agitated, and he was just going to watch them do so._

_‘I can’t do anything!’ He can feel the rapid beating of his heart, his vision fading. It was then that he came to a realization. ‘I can’t be a hero. I can’t save anyone!’_

_While he was standing around, the villain became more aggressive, that is, until a certain voice cut in._

_“HEY!”_

_His eyes focusing back at the scene, he saw that Mina had arrived, standing in between the villain and their classmates._

_‘What is she doing? She’s going to get killed!’_

_Thankfully, that never happened. With a few words, she managed to get the villain to back off, him being satisfied with whatever it was she told him. Seeing as everyone was alright, Ejiro let loose a sigh of relief._

_‘Mina’s so cool,’ the boy thought to himself. Even though the villain could’ve easily ended her, she still rushed in to help her classmates. The boy’s mood then dampened as he remembered his pitiful display of weakness. ‘She’s a real hero. I’m not.’_

_Sighing to himself, the boy began walking home, a dead dream lingering behind._

Naturally, his story didn’t end there. If it did, then he wouldn’t have gone to U.A.

_Having returned home, Ejiro locked himself in his room, angry at himself._

_“Why didn’t I do anything?!”_

_Sitting in his own self-pity, the boy eventually picked up a book and threw it at his bookshelf in anger. Doing so caused a hologram to fall to the ground and activate. Once it did, an interview held with the hero Crimson Riot began to play._

_‘I don’t remember having this,’ Ejiro thought to himself as he began watching the interview with curiosity._

_“People know you as a daredevil and reckless,” the reporter interviewing the hero said. “You’re sometimes known as the hero without fear. Can you tell us how you’ve reached such a point?”_

_“Well, the truth is that even with my reputation, I do feel fear when putting my life on the line,” Crimson Riot replied._

_“You do?” This was news to Ejiro. He has heard tales of the hero’s bravery, so hearing that he actually felt fear was surprising to him._

_“Everyone does, and if you say you don’t, then you’re lying to yourself. However, what I fear more is the look of a dying person’s face. There was a time in my life where I failed to save someone. That day, I swore that I’d never make that mistake again.”_

_The reporter nodded in understanding before asking another question. “Besides being known as a daredevil, you’re also known for your use of the phrase ‘manly spirit’. What does that mean exactly?”_

_“A manly spirit is something someone carries in their soul,” Crimson Riot explained. “It’s the desire to live a life without regret. Going back to feeling fear, everyone feels it. What makes someone manly and what doesn’t is whether they let fear consume them or if they still run in to save people, despite the fact they could die. As a hero, I’d rather die than have to see the faces of someone I failed to save.”_

_The hologram then turned off._

_“Manly spirit, huh?” Ejiro mumbled to himself. Taking everything the hero said to heart, the boy found himself feeling a rush of motivation. It was like Crimson Riot said, it was fine to feel fear, but a true hero rushes in with no regrets. That was the type of person he wanted to be. “I don’t want to live with regret anymore.” Standing up, the boy began shouting. “I can be a hero! I will be a hero!” Ejiro then hardened his skin. “I might not be able to shoot fire or lift a building, but I can be the shield that rushes in to protect people!”_

With a new flame ignited, Ejiro began putting what he learnt to use. Dying his hair red to match his newfound idol’s, the boy began taking boxing lessons to learn how to fight. With some research, he learned that the fighting style meshed well with quirks like his, hence why he wanted to learn it over other fighting styles. 

Meanwhile, Mina did her best to support her friend’s newfound spirit and had planned to do so once they had gotten into U.A. Sadly, a week into her time at U.A, Zoom took the life of her close friend. 

Naturally, Ejiro’s death hit her hard. During the week she was given off, Mina never left her room, the only time being during his funeral that was held five days after his death. Both her parents and her brother had tried getting her to go outside, but the girl proved to be stubborn, instead allowing depression to consume her. 

At the time, it seemd that Mina would never leave her room. However, she would soon find the motivation to move again. The day before she had to return to school, she had been looking through some of her old text messages with Ejiro when one managed to catch her eye.

“Crimson Riot’s so manly,” was all the message said, but attached to it was the interview he would always reference as the reason for his shift in attitude. While she had seen the interview when he first sent it, she had also been doing homework, so she didn’t really pay much attention to it during the first viewing. Clicking the link, she decided to watch it again, knowing how much it meant to him. 

Doing so ended up being an eye-opener for her. While she knew what kind of hero Ejiro wanted to be, she didn’t realize how much of an effect Crimson Riot had on his dream. 

_“A manly spirit is something someone carries in their soul. It’s the desire to live a life without regret.”_

When she heard that phrase come from Crimson Riot’s mouth, Mina felt a flame ignite in her heart. Ejiro wanted to be a hero who never gave up, who was always willing to rush in and save people. While he was no longer here, she refused to let his dream die. 

“Kirishima, I won’t let your death be in vain. I’ll become a hero you’ll be proud of. I won’t let what happened to you happen to anyone else…”

That day, Mina swore to train harder so she could be a hero worthy of carrying Ejiro’s legacy. She felt she owed him that much. Her motivation would only increase when she returned to school. Being informed about the Sport’s Festival from a near fully recovered Eraserhead, the girl began to train her butt off, utilizing the school’s various resources to her advantage. 

“Sensei, I want to learn how to fight better,” Mina told her teacher.

Such came as a surprise to him. While he did see potential in Mina in becoming a hero, she never seemed to take her work seriously. However, he noticed that there was a spark in her eyes, one that said that she was willing to do whatever it took to improve. 

“I’d normally offer to train you myself,” Eraserhead stated. While some might see him as the type who wouldn’t bother doing so, he was willing to make the exception for those who really seemed like they were willing to put forth the effort to improve. One look at his student was all that he needed to see that this was the case with her. “But I’m still recovering. For now, I’ll create a workout plan for you that should help you learn some hand-to-hand combat skills and how to utilize your quirk better. I’m using up time I could be using for something else to help you, so you better follow through with this.”

“I will sensei.”

True to her word, upon receiving the program, Mina immediately went to work, making sure to give the workouts everything she had. 

“No regrets,” the girl mumbled to herself as she practiced some fighting techniques against a dummy that belonged to U.A’s gym. In three weeks, her handling of her quirk and her fighting skills have increased dramatically, utilizing the gym everyday and sticking to Eraserhead’s plan. She even began trying to improve herself academically, an area which was a weak point for the girl. While progress was much slower on this front, it was still happening. 

Mina was willing to go beyond her limits to become a hero Ejiro would be proud of and she was going to let the world know this during the Sports Festival. Her goal was to do exceptionally well, perhaps even win. She was going to be fighting not only for herself, but for Ejiro as well. If Ejiro couldn’t make it to the Sports Festival, she’ll make sure that he’s there in spirit.

Unknown to her, an unwanted guest was going to interrupt this year’s Sports Festival… 

0000

While the world was burning around him, Izuku simply smiled as he watched a news report on him. Even though it has been a week since he wreaked havoc at the USJ, Zoom was still being discussed, which he was glad for as it meant more people would know about him and what he stood for. 

Having dug through several online forums, he noticed how many people have expressed support for his ideals. Sure, most of these people denounced him as a lunatic, but that wasn’t what he cared about. What he did care about was showing people how flawed the Hero Society was, and him exposing All Might seemed to do that. Posts on this topic created prior to him becoming Zoom have seen a surge in popularity due to his words. For once, discussions about the flaws of society were receiving the attention they all so deserved. 

However, he still felt that things could be going better. When watching All Might’s press-conference on television, he was disappointed with the lack of substance with his speech. To Izuku, he was only saying what he did as a means of damage control. All Might only addressed why he hid his wound from the public. He commended the hero for doing so, but he should’ve also spoken about his other cowardly actions, such as how he left Katsuki to die. He also should’ve given up his title of ‘Symbol of Peace’. He didn’t do any of that. 

Besides his feelings about All Might’s speech, everything was going well for Izuku. No one suspected he was Zoom and his work has produced the desired results. Simply put, he was happy. Sadly for him, said happiness would only last for so long.

“After much discussion, U.A has decided that the Sports Festival will continue as planned,” Nezu said in a press meeting, one which was given after the report Izuku was watching concluded. “We understand times are tough at the moment, but it’s exactly why U.A has made this decision. There are people out there who wish to undermine the heroes of today, one of them as you know being Zoom. We cannot falter, because if we do, we allow people like him to win. Such would be unacceptable. U.A is committed to fighting against people like him, so we will keep doing what we believe is necessary.”

*CRACK*

The remote Izuku was holding in his hand completely shattered upon him squeezing it in anger. 

“Fighting against people like me?” Izuku couldn’t believe what he heard. Normally, he would advocate for such a mindset. A hero should never let a villain win, but a message should always be heard. “Do you know what you’re fighting against? You’re against fighting for change.”

In his mind, this was the only answer for why Nezu said what he said. If the principal had said that U.A was willing to bring Izuku to justice, he would’ve praised them for their dedication. He was the villain after all and it was their job to catch him. However, the way Nezu phrased it suggested to the boy that they weren’t going to take what he said to heart. Instead of bringing upon change to ensure that another villain like him shows up, they were suggesting that change wasn’t necessary. In other words, they were defending the corrupt heroes.

“I should’ve known that U.A would respond this way,” Izuku scoffed. “They taught All Might after all.” Izuku ran a hand through his hair before standing up. “They didn’t learn from last time that I won’t allow things to stay the same. I think they need another lesson. But what should I do?” Izuku then began pacing around his house. He was initially going to wait a month to strike again, but Nezu forced his hand. “If knocking All Might off his high horse and killing Ejiro wasn’t enough to get them to change, then what will?”

“We will be beefing up security significantly this year,” Nezu continued to speak. “Not only will we have All Might on duty, but we will have many other heroes alongside him, including the rest of Japan’s top ten heroes.”

“The top ten, huh?” Pacing around his apartment, Izuku began speaking his thoughts out loud. “That won’t be enough to stop me...” Izuku’s eyes shined, an idea popping into his head. “They’re trying to intimidate me through the use of force, but they can’t stop me if I decided to kill someone…”

Stopping, Izuku ran to his room. Shuffling through his bookshelf, he grabbed one of his journals and began searching for the list where he ranked U.A’s first year students by their levels of heroism they displayed in their lives. 

“U.A needs to learn that actions have consequences,” Izuku mumbled to himself, eying the second name on his list. “All Might’s lies caused Ejiro to lose his life and U.A will be responsible for another.”

A small laugh escaped Izuku’s lips. Killing another student would not only show U.A and the heroes present that he couldn’t be stopped, but it would also be a tragic event, a tragic event that could’ve been prevented if U.A had listened to him. U.A and the world was about to learn that brute force wouldn’t be enough to stop him. The only thing that would ever make him quit is if society reaches a point where true heroes were the only type of heroes who thrived. Until then, he will continue his work.

Now, it should be noted that he didn’t hate most of the heroes who were part of the top ten, in fact, he found some of them to be genuine heroes. However, there were some who either used their platform irresponsible or didn’t deserve their position. 

Then there was Endeavor, a man with enough skeletons in his closet to make a villain blush. Izuku already had plans to deal with him, but he would commence them later. For it to work, he needed to be patient. 

Turning his attention back to his list, Izuku frowned. “You don’t deserve what I’m about to do to you. You could’ve been a great hero.” As if a flip was switched, Izuku suddenly began smiling. “But I need to teach U.A a lesson. You’ll understand, won’t you?” Another idea popped into his head as he thought of another way to punish U.A. Doing the same thing over and over again eventually loses its charm after all. “If it makes you feel any better, you won’t be the only one dying this time...”

0000

The three weeks separating Zoom’s attack and the U.A Sports Festival have come and gone. Now, it was time for U.A’s Sports Festival to commence. Despite initial worry expressed by the public, U.A’s stadium was filled with spectators eager to see the festival commence.

Nezu, keeping true to his word, hired all of the top ten heroes alongside several local heroes to serve as security. Said heroes were doing their jobs diligently, patrolling several areas 

“Nezu, this is Edgeshot. No suspicious activity detected in the south,” the number five hero Edgeshot said, speaking into an ear-piece as he observed the area he was assigned to protect. 

“This is Ryukyu reporting, nothing suspicious at the entrance,” the number ten hero reported from her post from the entrance.

From the snack booths, Best Jeanist carefully observed everyone who passed by him. “Best Jeanist here. Everything’s clear here. 

In the sky, the number three hero Hawks was keeping a birds-eye view of the stadium. “Hawks. Nothing from what I can see.”

Endeavor grunted, watching from the western stands. “Nothing here either. I dare that bastard to try something.

“Good.” Seeing as it was safe, Nezu continued forwards. “Then let us begin the Sports Festival.” 

0000

“They’ve really gone all out,” Izuku whispered to himself. The boy was currently in his civilian clothes, watching Ryukyu guard the front entrance. Looking at the sky, he could see Hawks fluttering around, the hero’s eyes trained on the area surrounding the stadium. “This is the most heroes I’ve seen in one area.”

Glancing at the civilians, he noticed how they were carrying on with their lives, not a care in the world. They were all here to see a show, any other issues or feelings taking a backseat to the event. 

“They look so peaceful… it almost makes me feel bad about what I’m about to do.”

Even with all the heroes present, Izuku knew he couldn’t be stopped. The fastest any hero alive could move was the speed of sound. Izuku could excel that without even thinking. No matter how vigilant they were, he was going to take them by surprise. The world was about to learn this today. 

Walking away from the entrance, Izuku made his way to a nearby cafe. Entering their bathroom, the boy used his powers to change into his costume. He then proceeded to glance at his reflection in the mirror, emerald green eyes staring into emerald green eyes.

“ **_It’s showtime.”_ **

0000

“HEY EVERYONE! WELCOME TO THIS YEAR’S SPORTS FESTIVAL! I’M YOUR HOST PRESENT MIC AND NEXT TO ME IS ERASERHEAD! WHO’S READY TO GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD?!” 

The entire stadium erupted in applause as a result, pleasing the hero. 

“LOVE YOUR ENTHUSIASM! HOW ABOUT YOU ERASER? EXCITED?”

Unlike the audience, Eraserhead only grunted in response. 

“...OK THEN! LET’S GET STARTED BY INTRODUCING OUR HERO CLASSES! FIRST OFF IS ERASERHEAD’S OWN CLASS 1-A!”

Upon being called, the members of 1-A began walking into the stadium, the audience cheering for them. The festival being a test of their skills, the students all had looks of determination plastered on their faces, some more so than others. 

Mina Ashido smiled as she walked forwards. She had trained three weeks for this moment and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. 

‘I’m going to put on a show,’ the girl mentally told herself. She quickly glanced at the red bandana tied to her arm, a symbol of her fallen friend, and began pumping herself up. ‘I’m doing this for the both of us, so wherever you are, you better be watching me!’

Meanwhile, Katsuki Bakugo was ready to roar. To him this was only a small obstacle in his journey to facing off against Zoom. As such, defeat was not an option.

“NEXT UP IS CLASS 1-B!”

Class 1-B entered the stadium, taking their places next to their rival class. 

“Um, not to sound rude, but are you missing someone?” Momo Yaoyorozu of 1-A whispered to Itsuka Kendo of 1-B upon noticing that class 1-B was indeed one person short. Both girls were presidents of their respective classes and as such have interacted in the past.

“One of my classmates called in sick,” Itsuka responded. “She seemed to be really out of it.” 

Momo nodded. “It must be really bad if she couldn’t make it today. I hope she gets better.” 

Seeing both hero classes have arrived, Present Mic began introducing the other classes of U.A. “NOW LET’S WELCOME GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSES 1-C,1-D, AND 1-E.”

The general education students took their places behind the two hero classes.

“HERE COMES SUPPORT COURSES 1-F, 1-G, AND 1-H!”

The support course students, some decked out with several pieces of equipment, stood behind the general education students.

“FINALLY, HERE’S BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT CLASSES 1-I, 1-J, AND 1-K!” 

With everyone in position, Present Mic began addressing the audience. “I WILL NOW TURN THE MIC OVER TO THE 18+ PRO HERO MIDNIGHT WHO WILL BE USHERING TODAY’S FESTIVAL!”

“Thank you Present Mic!” Midnight said. Immediately, people began whistling and drooling. A crack of her whip silenced everyone. “As per tradition, we will have the student with the highest score on the entrance exam give a speech before we reveal the first event. Please welcome Katsuki Bakugo of Class 1-A.”

As people began applauding again, Katsuki made his way to the stadium Midnight was standing on, confidence oozing out of his body. Standing on the stage, the boy waited until the applause died down before glancing at his schoolmates. With a cocky sneer, he uttered a few words.

“I will win.”

Ignoring the boos from his peers, the boy prepared to walk off the stadium, only for a blue streak to catch his eye. The next thing he knew, he and Midnight were back with the rest of Class 1-A.

“What the-”

 **“** **_‘I will win,’ really?”_ ** A sinister voice mockingly asked, having stolen the microphone Katsuki had just used. Everyone present immediately froze, said voice being one they’ve heard before. Another blue streak occurred, stopping at the podium. Once it did, Zoom’s form was revealed, showing everyone that despite the extra security, he had managed to find a way in. **_“No motivational speech, nothing about what makes a hero, is this really the best U.A can do?_ **” 

The atmosphere suddenly shifted, all the excitement and happiness everyone was feeling having fled in an instant. Instead, a cloud of despair began flooding the stadium, people fearing for their lives as they stared at the man who defeated All Might in the eyes. Some started crying as they held their loved ones, fearing that they were his next victims. Others prepared to rum

“ **_No one leave, unless you want to die.”_ **

Those who were about to flee sat down immediately, the sheer authority in Zoom’s voice causing them to comply. No one wanted to challenge him. 

In regards to the students, everyone was petrified with fear. Even the likes of Katsuki and Mina were afraid. 

“Fuck!” The light blonde cursed under his breath. Under normal circumstances, he would’ve launched forwards, but there was a problem. His family were in the audience watching him. He wasn’t going to risk their lives. The same went for Mina. Despite her wanting to honor her friend, she knew going in would be dumb. 

From his office, Nezu immediately began to inform the heroes of his presence. “We have a code red inside the stadium!”

These words were all that was needed to get the heroes into action. 

Izuku blinked as he saw all of them getting ready to try taking him on. The movement of Hawks’ feathers preparing to launch at him, the fibers of Best Jeanist’s costume flaring up, the flames of Endeavor beginning to roar, and All Might’s transformation were happening in slow motion for the boy. 

“ **_Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you_ ** ,” Izuku informed them. Without creating a streak, the boy rushed into the audience, grabbed a random civilian, and held a claw towards her neck. Such was done before any of the heroes could even react. “ **_If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’m fast. I wonder how many people I can kill off before a hero gets to where I’m at…ten? Twenty? Either way, someone’s blood will be shed. Now, will you let me speak? Or will I have to kill someone?_ **”

The heroes stopped what they were doing, knowing full-well that they were currently in a hostage situation. Even the trigger happy Endeavor knew that if he were to attack wildly, it would end poorly. 

Nezu understood the position he was in, and as such, he knew he had no choice but to listen to the villain. “Everyone, back down, but be ready for anything.”

Seeing the heroes comply with his demands, Izuku smiled under his mask. “ **_Good._ ** ” He returned the civilian to their original spot before heading back to the podium, creating a streak as he moved. Glancing around, Izuku saw that everyone’s eyes were on him, and it made him feel invigorated. Even those watching the Sports Festival from home were watching him. The world was watching him. Motivation flowing through his body, Izuku began to speak.“ **_Let me get to the point, I am Zoom, the person who’s going to save the hero world. Today’s hero world is corrupt and broken to its very core! Heroes and their popularity are determined by their quirks instead of how heroic they truly are!_ **

Izuku then wildly pointed at All Might, the hero in his buffed up form. “ **_Take your precious All Might as an example. He’s only able to fight for three hours before his quirk stops working. When it does, he stops being a hero. A boy was about to die and all he did was stand back and wait for ‘someone with a more suitable quirk’ to step in._ **” 

The boy smirked as he saw Katsuki growl and All Might slouch in shame. “ **_Is that a hero to you?! A true hero would’ve found a way past this weakness and would’ve tried saving him. All Might raises himself as an ‘unbeatable Symbol of Peace’, but we all know that’s not true. He prided himself as the backbone of the hero world, as the person who would keep everyone safe, but such a system never should’ve existed in the first place. He got cocky thinking he could keep a fire going on his own. Well, I stomped out his flames, so what now?”_ **

Suddenly, Izuku raised his arms. _“_ **_I say we make a new one, but this time, we’ll get everyone involved to make sure that it keeps burning. How? Before I tell you, let me reveal something that was standing in front of you the entire time, but was also hidden by the illusions of security All Might’s created. Instead of the cozy safety All Might thinks he was bringing to you, he and his cowardly actions only served to spread a horrible message; only the powerful can be heroes. It doesn’t matter what person you are, if your quirk lacks raw power or you don’t have one, then you can’t be a hero. I want to say that’s not true!_ **”

Izuku made sure to stare directly at the general education students, knowing that some of them were denied a chance to enter the hero course due to their quirks lacking offensive utility. “ **_Anyone can be a hero if they have the heart and drive! Heroes don’t need raw power to be effective. Just look at all the rescue and underground heroes. Most of them don’t have combat-based quirks, but they’re still able to get the job done, some even better than the flashy heroes that are admired. Sadly, the world’s so adamant about making an ‘unbeatable hero’ that they haven’t realized what a real hero is; someone who’s willing to do everything in their power to save the innocent. Well, I’m about to change this! I will remind everyone what a true hero is, and let me tell you, there are a lot of fakes right now._ **”

The boy changed his target to the heroes. For a split-second, Endeavor felt that Zoom was staring directly at him, peering into his soul. It was as if Zoom was telling him he knew everything there was to know about the number one hero. The look didn’t last long, but it bothered him greatly. “ **_Most of you powerful heroes see yourselves as Gods and live like Gods. You’ve spent your whole lives on Mount Olympus and never bothered to come back down to Earth to understand its inhabitants. You never cared to. Civilians are only numbers to you, something you use to build your reputations. There’s a reason for this horrible behavior and it’s because you’ve never suffered before. If you have, it wasn’t enough._ **

A dry laugh escaped the boy’s lips, immediately informing everyone about his lack of sanity. **_“Suffering and tragedy… these are the windows to understanding the importance of being a true hero. If you can rise from tragedy and still work to be a hero... then you are one of the people who deserve to be a hero. Those who’ve suffered are the ones who understand the needs and desires of those they are saving because they’ve experienced these needs and desires themselves! May I remind you that heroes serve the public, not the other way around! The false heroes dominating today’s society don’t understand this. They’re just glorified celebrities. Remove their quirks and they’re nothing. Remove the quirk from the oppressed and ridiculed and they’ll still be willing to fight until their last breath, just like those who are quirkless. Ejiro Kirishima understood this, but sadly, I had to use him as a sacrifice just to teach All Might a lesson._ **

Izuku made sure to stare at the cameras directly, knowing full well that Nezu was watching. “ **_To teach U.A a lesson! After all, it’s not only the fault of current heroes that the amount of genuine heroes these days are so low. Hero schools are also responsible for the lack of good heroes. They’re the places that produced the crappy heroes of today! Want to know something sad? U.A doesn’t host psychological examinations, meaning that in this crowd of students, there might be an undercover villain or a psychopath that shouldn’t be anywhere near people.”_ **

People began murmuring to themselves. Zoom may be a maniac, but he had a point. Why didn’t U.A hold these types of exams?

The murmuring soon died, signaling for Izuku to continue his rant. **_“And guess what? There’s a few students here who’re what I just described._ **”

Time seemingly slowed down for Katsuki as he found himself staring into the eyes of Zoom. Like Endeavor, the boy felt as if the villain was peering into his soul. It was as if the villain was talking about him directly. However, Zoom’s eyes soon flickered onto someone else. Katsuki tried to follow where Zoom was looking, but he couldn’t identify who held the villain’s attention. Before he could try again, Zoom began to resume his speech. “ **_U.A’s doing a horrible job trying to keep people safe. Hah! And they dare think they can write me off, saying that they won’t be shaken by me… Well, guess what U.A? You should be. You should’ve learned from the lesson I gave to All Might and everyone else who was at the USJ. But you willingly ignored it… that’s no good.”_ **

The staff of U.A felt themselves shuddering. The tone Zoom used when about them held immense venom. He was clearly angry at them. 

“...You know, perhaps a little punishment is in order…”

A streak of light appeared as Zoom seemingly left the podium, only for another one to follow once he returned in less than a second. It was then that the stadium erupted in noise. However, unlike the joyful sounds uttered before Zoom arrived, these were filled with fear and sadness. Such is to be expected after all, for Izuku was holding the body of a green haired girl, a slash mark present on her throat. It didn’t take a genius to know that she was dead.

“ **_Ah, Ibara Shiozaki, what a pure soul you were,_ ** ” Izuku said to the corpse, staring it directly in the eyes. “ **_Sadly, your life needed to be cut short because the hero world needed to be punished for their negligence._ **”

If everyone wasn’t afraid, they would’ve noticed the oddity of this scene. Despite having killed her, the boy was talking to Ibara’s corpse with an immense sense of longing and sadness. It was as if he’d known the girl all her life and was speaking to her at her funeral. 

Placing the corpse down gently, Izuku clenched a fist before staring at the audience again. “ **_Think of this as a hero failing to save a civilian, but in this case, U.A is the hero._ ** **”**

His head suddenly flung up, him now looking at the sky. “ **_Do you get it now? Do you see what a hero is supposed to fight against? This is the power of pain! The power of learning! As I said numerous times, for someone to be a hero, they must know what it’s like to suffer, and I will make sure you all understand this!”_ ** A fist slammed onto the podium, Izuku shifted his focus to the audience and heroes. “ **_Only those who are able to understand what suffering is will understand the importance of preventing it. But don’t worry, I’ll help you understand. I’ll help you be the best heroes you can be. That’s a promise.”_ **

The boy suddenly went silent as he took time to observe everyone’s reactions. Noticing that a majority of them were shaking and crying, the boy smiled as this was the desired effect he wanted to have on them today. 

“ ** _Are you afraid?_ ** ” He asked them. “ ** _Good. It means you’re listening._** ” Izuku glanced at his wrist, pretending to stare at a watch. “ **_Now, I’m running out of time- not really- but before I leave, I just want to say one more thing.”_ ** Izuku made eye contact with several people, all of whom knew he was staring at them. **_“All you fakes, you better keep being afraid. You created me and I will be your end. Maybe you’ll be a better hero in the afterlife._ ** ” He then focused on a different group, them also knowing Zoom was peeking at them. “ **_For those who want to be heroes or are already genuine heroes, continue to be afraid for fear is a natural human emotion, but don’t let it consume you. I WILL be testing you, and you don’t want to fail._** Finally, he made sure to stare at the people he hadn’t already. **_“For the innocent who will get caught in the crossfire, I’m sorry, but some sacrifices are necessary. The loss of your lives means more will be saved in the future. I’m finished here, so let’s end this with a bang, shall we?”_**

Hearing this, Nezu’s eyes widened, knowing something was about to happen. He immediately prepared to shout orders at the heroes.

“Everyone, be aler-”

*BOOM!*

Sadly, he was too late. Zoom suddenly bowed, and what followed were four explosions, all of which occurred in the audience. The sounds of screams began filling the stadium as several bodies shot upwards, trails of blood following. As people began to regain their barings, they heard Zoom say one last thing. 

“ **_As I said, I aim to teach you all how to be better heroes and one of the lessons you need to learn is that tragedy strikes when you least expect it to…_ **”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Author's note 2: Some might say Izuku's descent to villainy was a bit quick. I say it helps show how truly insane he is...


End file.
